First Impressions
by Koomahana
Summary: after Shikamaru comes home looking like a punching bag, Shikaku leaves to find the source of the younger Nara's fight. when he dose find the source, horrable memories of a once blonde freind come to life. the secret of the Hattori clan is revealed and it is up to Shikaku to protect what little of a legace they left behind, can he do so?
1. Chapter 1

**First Impressions**

Chapter 1: Introductions

Koomahana

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth, or died leaving young children behind. This yūrei returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are memories_

…

* * *

…

He honestly never stopped to question anyone who was in his son's classes, not even when he saw his once classmates escorting their own children to the academy. He just assumed that the kids were just like their parents, more cocky or proud then others, some overly confident and some horrendously shy; he just never questioned them... perhaps that was his mistake. He should've looked deeper into every student attending the Shinobi academy, especially those in the same class with his son. As it was, he was a little late to the show and was currently staring at his son in complete bewilderment as the younger boy threw his kunai and Shuriken at the training post a little more excessive than normal. Shikamaru ignored his father as the older Jonin stepped out onto the porch noisily, purposefully trying to distract his son from his current task of accuracy training.

"He's been like that since he came home," Yoshino whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "Something at school happened... I think you need to have a talk with him."

"What happened?' Shikaku asked, turning slightly to regard his wife calmly, moving one arm to wrap around her shoulders and pulling her closer.

"I'm not sure," Yoshino answered smiling as she pulled back slightly and pushed him closer to the edge of their porch, "He wouldn't tell me anything." With a sigh, Shikaku nodded and calmly left the porch to approach his son and only child. Shikaku opened his mouth and his son let lose a kunai that went so deep into the post that Shikaku could barely see the circular end.

"Not bad," Shikaku commented, watching his son straighten from his stance and march toward the post with both hands fisted at his side, "What's going on son? It's not like you to voluntarily train..."

"It's nothing," Shikamaru replied coldly, his voice sounding odd as he yanked his kunai out of the post.

Shikaku stared at his son for a moment, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Son... face me" At first Shikamaru refused to do so, choosing instead to continue picking his kunai out of the post, once they were all picked out and returned to his pouch, Shikamaru was out of excuses and Shikaku was still waiting patiently. Shikaku counted to thirty exactly before Shikamaru sighed, his forehead bumping against the ruined post he had been throwing knifes into since he came home. Slowly Shikamaru turned and regarded his father as calmly as he could, trying not to twitch at the bland but somewhat surprised look on Shikaku's face.

"What happened?" Shikaku asked slowly, as if he wasn't quite done processing what was staring back at him

"I got in a fight," Shikamaru grumbled, looking away from his father

"Thank you captain obvious," Shikaku drawled, rolling his eyes at his son, "I couldn't notice that on my own." it was true, his had a cut on his right cheek, his right eye was perfectly black and sullen, even his lip was sullen twice it's normal size and split; in all honestly Shikaku was impressed that his wife hadn't interrogated their son better she usually dose. "So?" Shikaku asked, leaning back slightly and crossing his arms as he stared down at his stubborn son, "What happened? I want the details, _now_."

"You sound like mom," Shikamaru grumbled, pouting up at his father as he returned to his previous place

"I don't care," Shikaku drawled lazily, "now answer my questions."

"Chōji and I found some kids laughing loudly in the Park," Shikamaru sighed, slumping in defeat. "They were circled around something so we both walked over to see what was going on; Ino wasn't that far behind us either."

"Did she get hurt?" Shikaku asked with a raised eyebrow, Shikamaru looked at him like he was an idiot. _Of course not, Shikamaru and Ch_ _ō_ _ji would never allow that to happen, not to Ino, their surrogate sister._

"We found out that the kids were circled around a girl," Shikamaru continued with a heavy sigh, "I noticed it first, hearing the girl shout back at the group. It was ten verses one, she was outnumbered… she didn't have a chance…"

"...You got in a fight over a girl that's not Ino?" Shikaku asked with a raised an eyebrow, "that's... almost impressive." If not for the fact that he knew there was more to the story, Shikamaru didn't jump into fights for just anyone.

"…Ino knows her," Shikamaru grumbled, turning in his place to throw another kunai at the post

"What's her name?" Shikaku asked when Shikamaru didn't continue his explanation, again his son waited to answer the question, waiting until he had five perfectly spaced kunai in the post before he bothered to answer the question.

"…Sakura," Shikamaru answered softly

"And?" Shikaku asked, looking down at his son with a raised eyebrow, "What would make those kids bully her?"

Shikamaru threw another two kunai before he answered, "Her hair is pink, her eyes are green and supposedly her forehead is too large to be human."

"…They were focused on her forehead weren't they?" Shikaku asked, remembering a certain red head from childhood, remembering just how cruel some kids could be. Shikamaru paused mid launch of his kunai, looked up at him calculatedly before he bowed his head with a heavy sigh.

"She doesn't look inhuman at all," Shikamaru sighed, "She's just a kid… barely even six…"

"She's younger then you?" Shikaku asked, sounding half amused half surprised

"Honestly I don't know," Shikamaru sighed, throwing another kunai, "but Ino was pretty pissed that they were hurting her, she nearly started using chakra against them."

"Really?" Shikaku asked in surprise, he had hear do Ino Yamanaka being protective of those closest to her but he never heard her attempting use chakra against someone who angered her; the girl preferred to use words and mind games like her father. "Interesting…" Shikaku murmured, turning his eyes to look at the cloudless blue sky over head. If he recalled right, there was a boy in his graduating class with pink hair. Everyone assumed he was killed during the Kiyobi attack eight years ago but his body was never found and there were rumors of him marrying and having a kid…

 _Could this 'Sakura' be Kizashi's daughter?_ Shikaku thought, wondering about the possibility for the first time since he heard the news of his once classmate's death. "Hay Shikamaru," his son looked up at him curiously, "how often dose Ino-chan meet with this Sakura-girl?"

"I don't know," Shikamaru shrugged, throwing another knife, "enough to know that Sakura-san lives alone in the forest." Shikaku stilled at the information, his dark eyes sharpening on his son

"Where?" Shikaku asked softly, Shikamaru paused and looked up at his father again, confusion on his face. "Where dose this girl live?"

"Alone in the eastern forest by the old ruins," Shikamaru repeated in confusion, "Ino tried to chase after Sakura but the girl is surprisingly face for her age."

 _The old ruins?_ Shikaku thought, turning to face the direction from his current placement in his clan compound

"Dad?" Shikaku glanced down at his son quickly, his mind already going through twenty different scenarios, "you look really serious… what's wrong?"

"Do you know just what side of the old ruins Ino was heading towards?" Shikaku asked

"No," Shikamaru answered, "once we got to the stream she started acting like she got lost…"

 _I'll head there first_ , Shikaku thought, turning away from his son and glancing meaningfully at his wife. "Get your homework done… then help your mother."

"Ah but—" Shikaku was gone before Shikamaru could say another word, "Ah~ man"

"You heard him young man, get over here!"

…

* * *

…

It was high noon by the time he saw the first sign of someone in the old forest, it was barely a few hours old and too small to be Ino's much less any of the other children he knew. It was human though and that alone gave Shikaku enough hope to keep searching the woods just east of his home, praying that his assumptions were wrong. The Hottori clan ruins were dangerous for children to be near much less living in, they were the first to be hit by the Kiyobi's beast-ball and they were the first to perish in the attack. Not all of the Kiyobi's chakra-miasma had been removed from Konoha but it seemed stubbornly attracted to the Hattori clan compound. Slowly pulling the rest of whatever remaining miasma into the compound and just as slowly suffocating anything that dared to trespass into its newly clamed territory.

There weren't any Hottori clan members left, Mebuki Hottori in his academy class had been the only one he knew of but he hadn't seen her since the third war when she whipped out an infiltration team by herself. The Hottori clan were well known for their obsession with history and knowledge, but what made them so revered and feared by their enemies is their insane ability to adapt to any anything threatening their life. Their bloodline itself was called 'Hyōka tekiō', meaning 'advanced evolution' as in they can 'evolve' to any situation that is required of them. If someone tried to drown a Hattori they'd grow gills somewhere near their face so they could still breathe without it being obvious to the person trying to kill them. If someone tried to burn a Hattori to death, the one in question would suddenly adapt a body as hard as diamonds and sometimes it looked as if their body was suddenly covered in pure diamond sheets that didn't appear to hinder the user at all. The older a Hattori was, the more 'adaptions' they had under their belt and the more dangerous they were. The once refereed and highly respected clan was welcomed with open arms to Konoha and treated as respectfully as any Senju or Uchiha.

However, the night the Kiyobi attacked the village, it was the Hattori clan that was targeted first and it was the Hattori clan that seemed to suffer the most from the demon's chakra-miasma. By the end of the year, the last known Hattori—a young girl named Hanazu—had died from the miasma, proving to the medics that their clan was exceptionally weak to such demonic chakra. They assumed that there weren't any more Hattori clan members left, especially since it was reported that all the known Konoha-affiliated Hattori clan members were in the village during the attack.

 _Could it be?_ Shikaku thought as he scanned the silent forest carefully, honing every sense he had gained from the war to search out that one possibly human presence hiding somewhere nearby. _Could that child really be…_

…

" _Shikaku-kun, why are you asking me if Kizashi-kun had a child?" Hiruzen asked, looking up from the documents littering his desk, surprise and confusion twisting his face. "Whatever is on your mind?"_

" _Shikamaru came home pretty beat up," Shikaku started slowly, knowing he'd have to start from the beginning to avoid any confusion later. "He said the girl he tried to protect was a pink haired, green eyed little girl named Sakura." Hiruzen perked at the description his eyes widening slightly at the given name. It was no secret that Kizashi would name his first born daughter 'Sakura', it was his favorite name and he seemed almost obsessive with it as a child._

" _You're thinking that this child might be Kizashi's?" Hiruzen asked, leaning against his desk thoughtfully, "it most certainly is a possibility…"_

" _Lord Hokage do you know who he was married too?" Shukaku asked, "I heard during the war that he got married but I never found out who or if it was true."_

" _Hmm, I'm not surprised you don't know," Hiruzen said thoughtfully, "Kizashi-kun decided to marry Mebuki-chan—"_

" _Mebuki Hattori?" Shukaku asked quickly, earning a mildly irritated look from his superior_

" _Yes, Mebuki Hattori," Hiruzen agreed, tilting his head to the side, "you seem awfully worried now Shikaku-kun, did you figure something out?"_

" _Shikamaru said that after the fight Ino tried to chase after Sakura," Shikaku answered, "he said Ino went to the old eastern forest by the Hattori ruins."_

" _Those lands are forbidden for anyone to enter," Hiruzen reminded Shikaku, straightening in his seat, "If anyone gets too close the Kiyobi's remaining miasma will harm them. The effects could be even worse for a child—"_

" _I know lord Hokage," Shikaku interrupted, "that's why I'm asking for permission to enter the Hattori badlands."_

…

 _I have to hurry!_ Shikaku thought, glancing up at the quickly darkening sky. If he didn't hurry, the little kid he's been trying to find could end up seriously hurt from the miasma still gathering in the Hattori compound. He ran for a few more hours, skittering around the edges of the compound ruins, careful not to touch the orange-ish mist still filtering into the Hattori compound. No one knew why the miasma filtered into the compound but they figured that since it's not doing any harm, innless you're dumb enough to trespass, it was best to leave it to be absorbed by Mother Nature again. It was nearing sunset when he finally reached a large clearing that was seventy percent hill, at the top of the hill sat a large willow tree. It was nearing the end of spring and the weeping willow was showing off its bright bubblegum pink flowers, when the willow twisted just right in the breeze he could see the dark figure of someone very small.

…

* * *

…

She was resting peacefully beneath her family willow tree, she knew it was her family willow tree because Ubume—as her friend has named the woman—still wondered the Ruins of her once homeland. She may not understand why she was left to the Ubume's care but she understood that the ghostly woman had begun taking care of her since she was still a baby. Her powers of a ghost are truly amazing if she could accomplish such a task without human aid. She smiled as she stared down at the little flower in her hand, twirling it between her fingers, watching the pretty elegant looking pink flower spin hypnotizing.

 _Sakura_ , she thought, smiling down at the little pink flower.

…

" _You don't have a name?" the older blond asked, gently pressing the wet pale cloth to her scratched knee, "Can I give you one?" she hummed slightly, her brow twitching at the burn of water on her bloody and dirt covered knee, watching the strange blonde girl carefully. "Hmm, okay then…" the girl pulled back for a moment, her blue eyes wide as she watched the pink flowers flutter down around them from the familiar tree on the hill hidden just out of sight._

" _Cheery blossoms? But it's not in season," She carefully held out her hand, catching a fallen blossom easily, staring at it with a fond smile. "Oh I know!" she sudden bubbling with excitement, her face a glow and her smile wide, "how about Sakura? Do you like that name?"_

" _S~a…skwa?" she repeated slowly, her head tilting to the side carefully_

" _No," the blonde giggled, "Sakura, say it with me Sa~"_

" _Sa~"_

" _Ku~"_

" _Ku~"_

" _Ra!"_

" _Ra…"_

" _Alright, together now," her smile was blinding as she re-dipped the cloth in the river and placed again on her torn knee. "Saku~"_

" _Sa-ku"_

" _ra,"_

" _ra~"_

 _She giggled again, eyes dancing as she looked up into her face, "Sakura!"_

" _Sa-ku-ra"_

" _That's great! You learn fast!" She giggled, pulling back one hand to press against her chest, "my name is Ino, Can you say that?"_

" _I~no,"_

" _Very good!"_

…

She lowered her hand raised her eyes to watch the sun set in pretty shades of golds and pinks. Vaguely remembering the blonde's actions when they first met and the days following when the girl was able to visit her. Suddenly the wind shifted and new scent was pushed up her nose, making her eyes widen as she snapped around and lowered herself into a crouch, growling at the shadow who dared to join her beneath her family willow tree. At the edge of the willow, barely beneath its whispering limbs, stood a tall and dark figure with a strange looking face, almost as if he was wearing something over his face. His face was rimmed in something thick and dark, his one black eye spanned from side to side, covering half of his face. His nose was long and irregular, two large nostrils hard Green stretched from beneath his eye to just below his mouth; the ends tipped in many small black holes. He made a horrible noise that sounded similar to suffocating cat.

He didn't look like the others who visited her, the tall men shrouded in black with masks of snarling white animals rimmed in thick colored lines, making their masks appear even more terrifying then the animals themselves. Those men were bad, they always threw things at her, always trying to catch her or hurt her; she didn't what they wanted but if this man was with them then she was going to fight like she always did. A low, dangerous growl slowly tumbled out of her chest, rolling up throat and spilling past her lips like the hiss of many small cats that surrounded her in this strange forest no one visited.

"Easy now," the man said softly, raising his hands and lowering to the ground, crouching within the circle of the willow tree, "I mean you no harm."

 _Yeah right!_ She snarled again, slowly, carefully, edging away from him; alarmed that he could speak with the lack of lips much less a mouth. The man sighed heavily in his place, his hands still raised peacefully, his knees still pressed firmly into the ground; a kind of palatable sadness surrounded him like the mists of the ruins.

It gave her pause

"…You remind me of a boy I once knew," the man said softly, his voice barely managing to filter through the air to reach her

" _You look so much like your father,"_

"He had pink hair too," she couldn't help but to raise an Eye brow at that, what was so different about pink hair. She's had it all her life and honestly she's never seen anyone else who didn't have it… then again the only 'people' she's met are the shadow men with the animal faces and Ino. "Although… I suppose you have your mother's eyes" she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly, her eyes sharp like daggers as she watched him slowly raise his hands and reached for his face. She heard the loud, sharp snaps of clasps and watched horrified as he slowly pealed his face away, revealing a softer and kinder one beneath it.

She couldn't stop herself, she couldn't help it

She screamed

…

* * *

…

Shikaku leaned back from the eardrum shattering, completely terrified scream the pink haired little girl gave him in response to the reveal of his real face. It took him a moment to refocus on the girl, who now sat on her bottom pointing at him in the same manner his wife would point at a spider. All trembling and shaking like a leaf in the wind, completely terrified of a tiny creature that couldn't possibly harm her… well not really harm her.

"Is there something wrong?" Shikaku asked, stared down at the girl as she continued to tremble and point at him in complete horror. Blinked a couple of times before he looked down at the gas-mask in his hands, looked back up at the still terrified little girl and then back down at the mask. Once realization dawned him, Shikaku couldn't stifle his amused snort or the amused sounding half-stifled chuckles that quickly followed.

"My apologies," Shikaku said, trying very hard not to laugh at the girl who stopped her trembling but still regarded him wirily, "I didn't mean to frighten you." She was still distrustful of him, slowly pulling herself into a crouch, as if she had yet to decide to fight or flee.

"This is called a gas-mask," Shikaku said calmly placing the between them and pulling himself back, watching half amused as the girl carefully pulled herself forward and began to examine the black and green mask. "We use it to protect ourselves from dang—"

"RAA~!" Shikaku stared dumbly at the little girl, the gas-mask looked awkward and strange sitting tilted to one side on her head, her disheveled pink locks poking out from between the gaps like scrawny branches.

It was Shikaku's turn to do something he couldn't help

He started laughing

…

* * *

…

He glared out at the high beautifully blooming willow tree, his teammates crouched lowly, ready to leap forward but wiry of being caught by a clan head. Their mission was simple, as it always was each week, the simple capture of a single child residing in the Hattori Bad Lands. It was simple, painfully so, yet not one in their ranks were able to accomplish the task without the brat running into the safety of the orange mist that was actually the Kiyobi's toxic chakra miasma. They didn't know why or how she managed to survive after constant contact with the poisonous orange mist but the girl did and it was seriously grating on their nerves. Their own master was beginning to doubt their skills in capturing a single pink haired child—that could not do.

With gritted teeth and trembling fists, he backed away from the edge of the large clearing with a hill and willow atop it.

"Fall back," he ordered coldly, his black eyes blazing furiously at the two shadows barely hidden beneath the willow tree's eaves. "We'll have to wait another day…"

"Mission failure?" one of the younger members asked, dark head tilted to the side as if he was disappointed with the command

"Mission is a failure," he agreed, jumping away from the light of the field, "We cannot get caught!"

His teammates followed him carefully, but not without a frustrated look back at the girl who always seemed to find some form of safety from them

…

* * *

…

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in child birth, or died leaving young children behind. This yūrei returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **what do you think of my first SakuXShika Fic?**

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are wonderful**

 **Helpful criticism** **is** **lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **Please no cursing!**

 **And don't forget to** **rate and** **review!**

 **Page 10**


	2. Chapter 2

**First Impressions**

Chapter 2: the Hattori Sacrifice

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian angle  
**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _ **Inner Sakura**_

(She'll show up at some point)

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

"My name is Shikaku Nara," he said slowly, watching how the girl calmly sat in the grass and looked at him curiously through his gas-mask; all her previous caution and fear thrown out the window once she put on that too-big mask. "Can I ask for your name?"

The girl slowly raised a hesitant hand

"Shi~ka-ku?" she asked softly, head tilted and one finger pointing unsurely at him

"That's right," he bobbed his head and smiled encouragingly at her, "What is your name?"

Slowly she pointed at herself, he could nearly feel her confusion and uncertainty in the air, "me?"

"Yes," his smile didn't drop and he watched as calmly as he could

"S~Sakura," her voice was small and hesitant but the answer put a ball of led weight in his stomach, it was an answer he was both hoping for and fearing.

"Do you know your parent's names?" Shikaku asked softly, again the girl's head tilted, but this time to the other side

"Parents?" she questioned, "like… Mommy and Daddy?"

"Yes," Shikaku nodded, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach, another added weight that was steadily growing as the seconds ticked-past. "Do you know their names?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head gently, the gas-mask shifting down to reveal one emerald eye, "No mommy or daddy, no brother or sister or cousins. I am alone."

 _I'll assume Ino taught her those words,_ Shikaku thought, trying to calm his heart rate. "Who takes care of you? Who protects you?"

"Protect?" she questioned, perking at the word, a strange light entering her eyes and beneath the dark visor of the gas-mask, he could see a smile slipping onto her face. "Mamorigami-hime!"

"M-Mamori… gami… hime?" Shikaku asked in surprise, _why do I have a bad feeling about this?_

"Uh-huh," she bobbed her head, happy and seemingly trusting but Shikaku could see the uncertainty laying just beneath the cheerful façade. Though the girl loved this 'Mamorigami-hime' she was unsure if she made the right choice in telling him about them.

"Can you tell me more about them?"

" _No need to,_ " Shikaku stilled at the sound of the soft voice, his face paling in familiarity, " _Kodomo, it is time to go inside._ " Shikaku turned very slowly towards the voice, dark eyes widening further at the ghostly figure of the once familiar woman.

"Hai Mamorigami-hime!" Sakura giggled, jumping up to her feet and hurrying to the figure's side. Shikaku watched as the woman never let her eyes stray from him, allowing him to study her as well. The woman herself didn't appear to be anything special; she wore the standard Hattori white qipao lined in (now faded) bright red. The slits ran up to her hips, revealing mid-shin long bright pink kakis and blue sandaled feet. Her hair was shoulder length and as blonde as he remembered, she even had the pale skin and the ridiculous flop of hair covering her forehead.

However, what stood out most about the basically transparent woman, were her piercing emerald eyes

Shikaku knew the guarded look well

Even though the ghostly form of Mebuki knew and recognized him, she was wiry of leaving young Sakura in his presence

"You look like her," Shikaku murmured as Sakura stopped beside the ghostly figure and looked back at him in confusion, "yet I know you can't be her."

" _Be who?_ " the Mebuki-look-alike asked, face blank and voice calm

"Mebuki," Shikaku answered, "you look like Mebuki Hattori… Yet I know you can't be her"

"… _and you'd be right_ ," the ghostly woman nodded in agreement; Shikaku sighed heavily, having expected the answer but still somehow, unprepared for it. " _I am her last memories_ ," Shikaku snapped his head up, his eyes wide, " _I am the last of Mebuki Haruno's essence, her last breath of life, her desire and will to protect all that she had left and cherished most in this world_." Shikaku's eyes dropped to look at one very confused little girl, her green eyes swiveling back and forth between her care taker and the stranger.

"There was a rumor when I was a kid about the Hattori clan," Shikaku started slowly, regarding the partially transparent woman as calmly as he could, "… it said that the Hattori clan were at least a century further in technology then the rest of the world. That they had TV's and radios long before the Shodaime's reign began."

"… _Your rumors would be correct_ ," The woman agreed, placing one hand on Sakura's head calmly, " _I am what the Hattori clan calls 'Hologram'_."

"What is a 'Hologram'?" Shikaku asked

" _A hologram is a_ _photographic record produced by illuminating the object with coherent light—like from a laser—and, without using lenses, exposing a film to light reflected from this object and to a direct beam of coherent light. When interference patterns on the film are illuminated by the coherent light a three-dimensional image is produced_." The woman answered quickly and efficiently, Shikaku couldn't help but to blink dumbly at her, earning a heavy sigh from the 'hologram'. " _I am a form created from beams of light constructed to form the image of a picture placed into the central memory system_ ," she said, trying to simplify the explanation. " _Basically, someone took video of this woman you call 'Mebuki Hattori' inserted the video into the memory system, recorded her voice using every word in the dictionary as well as her tone of voice when she said certain phrases and inserted those recordings into the system as well_."

"So… You're like a talking computer?" Shikaku asked, "But… instead of a Keyboard and a screen… your using cameras and lasers to produce an image and speakers to make your voice sound… right?"

" _Close enough_ ," 'Mebuki' sighed, " _now, according to the data you share a resemblance to Shikaku Nara, a class mate to Mebuki Hattori. Are you the older version of this once clan heir?_ "

"Uh… yeah?" Shikaku titled his head to the side, not sure if he should be flattered or alarmed that she knew his name. "How do you know me?"

" _Good, then you can follow us_ ," the woman bobbed her head and gestured for Sakura to go in a certain direction, " _give the man his mask back, he will need it._ " Sakura puffed her cheeks in disappointment and sullenly gave the mask back to Shikaku.

"A friend?" Sakura asked, turning to look up at the hologram curiously, blind trust echoing in her emerald orbs

" _Yes he is_ ," the woman agreed simply, " _you must take the easiest route, understand?_ "

"Hai~" Sakura pouted at the woman

" _He is not as fast as you are_ ," the hologram said calmly, " _underground would be best, he doesn't have the same immunity as you Kodomo._ "

"Okay," Sakura huffed walking away

" _You should hurry_ ," the hologram said, turning to look at Shikaku pointedly, " _it is almost dark out_."

"Does that mean something?" Shikaku quickly jumped to his feet and hurried after Sakura, the hologram was prevented from answering when Sakura giggled as she ran down the hill. "Whoa! Wait up Sakura-san!" Shikaku shouted loudly, quickly giving chase to the young girl, "You're not going to where I think you are, are you?!"

" _Where else would she go?_ " Mebuki asked as she stopped at the base of the hill, her image flickering slightly. " _We live in the compound_."

…

* * *

…

Shikamaru stared out his bedroom window, wondering when his father was going to come home. To distract himself, Shikamaru decided to try to count as many as the stars as he could without getting distracted.

… _Twenty…twenty-one…twenty-two…twenty-three…twenty-four…twenty-five…twe—_

' _Shikamaru?'_ the soft whisper nearly scared Shikamaru straight through his roof. _'Are you awake?'_ instantly he was leaning over the edge of his window, eyes wide and head flipping back and forth, searching for the source of the whisper.

"Ino?" Shikamaru whispered

' _Not out loud idiot,'_ the girl's voice whispered in his mind, _'your mom is still awake and in the kitchen!'_

' _Don't shout in my head!'_ Shikamaru shot back, stilling on the windowsill to stare down at his mother's garden where he swore he saw two little balls of red and yellow hair. _'Choji?!'_

' _No shouting!'_ Ino nearly shrieked at him, _'you're going to give me a headache'_

'… _hi Shika,'_ Choji whispered shyly back, _'Ino connected us but I don't think she can hold the link for long…'_

' _Short version!'_ Ino's voice chimed suddenly, making Shikamaru twitch at the voice, _'Choji caught me sneaking out and convinced me to ask you about visiting Sakura together instead of on my own.'_

' _Can you even find her?'_ Shikamaru asked, rubbing at the bridge of his nose

' _Of course I can,'_ Ino answered as if she was offended by the question, _'I only turned us around earlier because she said we wouldn't be able to follow her any further without getting hurt. Now that no one else is around and bound to follow us, I figure it's safer to track her now.'_

' _And you roped Choji into this?'_ Shikamaru asked, a hiss sounding in his voice

' _I did not!'_ once again Ino sounded insulted, _'like I said, he convinced me to talk to YOU before we actually entered the ruins!'_

' _Please no shouting Ino,'_ Choji shyly asked, rubbing at his temple

' _You're in one of those moods where it doesn't matter what I say you're going after her aren't you?'_ Shikamaru hadn't actually meant to ask Ino that, it was just a thought he meant to have on his own without Ino hearing it.

' _Shikamaru you know me too well!'_ Ino grinned to herself, as if pleased with herself. Of course it was that sentence that made Shikamaru realize that Ino had heard his thought, his reaction was to do what he did best in his own mind—cursed like his cousin did.

' _Shikamaru!'_ Ino sounded delighted when she heard his mini-rant inside his own mind, _'does your mother know you kiss her with that mouth? Can I tell her?'_

' _End this jutsu NOW Ino or so help me—'_

' _You're no fun Shika!'_ And the connection was gone, leaving Shikamaru in complete silence, like the blonde had never been there. It took Shikamaru staring at the stars for a little longer before he let out a sigh and banged his head on his windowsill, cursing at Ino silently.

…

* * *

…

Shikaku panted heavily as he tried to keep up with Sakura. His mask was designed to show him high concentrations of chakra, such as the Kiyobi's miasma, in this dark tunnel he could see next to nothing through the yellow, orange and red fog that laced through the underground hallway. His only clue was that yellow was survivable, orange was dangerous and red was lethal; the entire place was filled orange with nearly half of it tinged a faint crimson. Ahead of him Sakura raced through as if the fog wasn't there and for her, it properly wasn't; the Hattori clan adapted to any situation and evolved to survive—it was why they were so damn hard to kill.

"Hurry!" Sakura called as she landed on her palms, turning on a broken ledge to face him, "Hurry! Hurry! No statues!" Shikaku rolled his eyes and jumped just in time to avoid some 'smoke', he landed atop a pile of rubble which imminently gave way forcing him to jump again. "Here! Here!" Shikaku twisted and caught the rope Sakura threw at him, from there he was quickly jerked towards her, giving him a new place to land and forcing Sakura to shift herself.

"Stupid mister," Sakura huffed, turning in her place to look at him with her hands on her hips, "no touchy! No touchy!"

"I thought you were taking me on the _easer_ course," Shikaku panted, staring disbelieving through the mask's dark visor

"Yup!" Sakura agreed with a smile, "easiest route!"

" _There isn't much mist here and what is here will only do external damage not internal damage_ ," Shikaku shifted to look at the damaged ceiling overhead, there a large image of Mebuki stared dully back at him. It looked like the ceiling might've had a large screen there for projections, for instances like the one he's in right now. " _However it dose move like normal mist so you have to pick the right path to take or you'll end up getting the mist to follow you. If that happens more of it will enter here which means this place will become even more dangerous then what it is already._ "

 _We should use this for the second stage of the chunin exams,_ Shikaku thought sarcastically, straightening from his crouch and bounding forward as quickly as possible. Sakura smiled at him and quickly bounded away, leaving a clear trail for Shikaku to follow into the relative safety of the once compound. Sakura lead the way and Shikaku followed obediently, not wanting to mess up and get hurt or worse—he came to find her and gain her trust. It would seem that he had a lot of work to do, being welcomed into her home could be an added plus, it just might come in handy someday.

"Almost there!" Sakura said loudly, laughter echoing in her voice as she waved cheerfully at the projection.

" _You better catch up its gonna get harder from now on_ ," Mebuki's image informed Shikaku as he ran forward

"Why does it look like someone other than us has come through here?" Shikaku asked as he avoided a particularly dark mound of something he could barely see in the thick orange mist of the ruined hall.

"Not one! Not one!" Sakura corrected in a sing-song voice, obviously having fun. Sakura slid to a stop atop a particularly tall half destroyed wall, her stance was low and her body stiff; giving Shikaku the uneasy feeling of seeing a gargoyle. Sakura sighed and shook her head, Mebuki's image appeared to her right and the woman sighed herself, as if in disappointment.

" _You can go up there, it's relatively safe enough to hold you both,_ " Shikaku wasn't sure if he should but he did anyways, trusting this image of a woman he once knew, it could be his only chance in surviving this place.

"What is it?" Shikaku asked as he jumped and landed beside Sakura, he didn't need to hear her answer to see what she was so disgruntled at. On the ground a good fifty feet down, surrounded in orange and crimson mist was a pile of five or six bodies, all dressed up in black and curled up like they were going to a funeral. "What the hell?" Shikaku asked metaphorically, not expecting Sakura to respond.

 _I thought you said 'not one'_ , of course it was that thought that Shikaku realized what the little girl meant. It wasn't 'one' person down there, it was multiple—that's why she said 'not one'.

"Shadow animals," Sakura sighed in frustration, "never learn."

"What are you going to do?" Shikaku asked, turning to look up at Mebuki's image curiously, "it's not good if those bodies begin to rot there…"

" _If you go down there you'll join them_ ," Mebuki replied, not even glancing down at the corpses. " _That's what happens when you breathe in the Kiyoubi's Miasma._ "

"Rot inside out!" Sakura continued as she jumped up to the roof and surveyed the coming areas carefully. Shikaku felt as if someone just knocked the wind out of him. The way she spoke, so cold and detached; as if she was Ibiki after a nasty interrogation gone wrong. No child, no matter the field of their expertise, should ever sound so cold and detached, like seeing corpses was an everyday occurrence and perfectly normal.

Then again, it might be an everyday occurrence for her… that didn't make it right

"Come," Sakura ordered turning away from the black cloaked pile, "They're gone, no staring." Shikaku didn't move, his eyes were clued to the corpses; searching, praying for any sign of life, proof that she was wrong and that he could save at least one soul.

"Shikaku," Sakura whispered, drawing his attention to herself, "up ahead…" he could tell by her voice that she didn't want to continue that sentence, so he could guess what she was trying to tell him.

"Will any of them be alive?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he should ask much less attempt a rescue for anyone willing to attack an eight year old child.

"Don't know," she answered honestly, "a chance…" If there was even a ten percent chance of someone surviving this miasma… it was worth continuing to find that single possible survivor; even if they didn't last long after word, he could at least return the body to the deceased's family.

…

* * *

…

"Did anyone make it through?" he asked, one finger ticking away on the arm-rest of his chair, his coal eyes staring impossibly dark and cold down on the three young men kneeling before him.

"No sir," not one of them so much as flinch or glance at each other as they answered, their negative response sounding together in some kind of hollow echo. He sighed in disappointment and glanced down at the partial map laying out on his desk, it looked like an unfinished seal diagram, or perhaps a finished circular seal diagram with the very center seal ripped out and left up to interoperation. The problem with this 'seal' was that each bar (hallway) was as booby-trapped as Hell's courters, it didn't matter which direction you came in from, death was guaranteed at a certain depth—the depth being the center of the Hattori compound. None of his men even had a chance at getting further than one hundred meters in the one hallway that wasn't completely filled to the brim in toxic miasma, poisonous gas, and lethal weapons that to blur from whatever location they were shot out from. He personally called this hall Level 1, simply because they've never gotten past a hundred meters—alive at least. Even with their special gear to get past the Kyobi's miasma, none of them could make it past the traps in the deserted halls. It was so frustrating he was beginning to think that the girl was an illusion and he should give up on trying to capture her. However, the information he received about the girl coming out of the compound grounds, far enough that she was actually a part of popular park that many clan children play at. He had wanted to capture her then but it appeared that his men were unable to because of some clan heirs keeping close contact with the girl; they were unable to act without drawing attention from three very highly regarded clans.

"Find out the secret and get to the center," he ordered, finalizing his decision on the last living Hattori child, "I want that girl before anyone else finds her." He paused as he saw his men twitch, if he were anyone else he wouldn't have noticed the slightest bit of tension to the men's shoulders and arms, the way their fingers flexed in the first to their heart or subtitle straightening of their necks. However he did notice because he trained them, good or bad news they were to be statues, not moving even as the blood of their brothers rained down upon them. To him those feint muscle retractions spoke volumes; it was as telling to him as a glance between friends or an uncomfortable shift from a child in trouble.

Someone else already found her

"Who?" he asked, his voice low and furious, promising pain and destruction

"Shikaku Nara," the center man answered, resignation sounding in his voice as his body relaxed minutely, showing that he'll take on his fury. "She did not appear to trust him but… the woman appeared." He stiffened, that damned transparent woman was the sole reason behind his men's failures in capturing the little survivor; she alone activates every trap and sends every poisoned gas-container, venomous animal, and horrendously sharp weapon their way.

"…she approved of him?" he asked, taking in a deep steadying breath, trying hard not to show just how furious he was at the information

"…She let the girl take him in," the man answered, "there is a path the girl knows…she called it the safest route."

If he ever found that woman he was going to take great pleasure in killing her

"The next time he enters, keep a close eye on every step he takes," He ordered, "Don't miss a step—and stay out of sight of the woman."

"Yes sir!"

Two of the men disappeared, the center remained, as if expecting to be punished for his failure

"What is it?" he asked, voice hard and cold like a whip of ice and glass

"…what if the Nara Matriarch doesn't come out?" he asked, tilting his head up to look in confusion and concern at his master

"The girl comes out, so must Shikaku," He answered, "There must be a reason why the girl isn't raised completely underground. That means that it isn't completely safe, she needs to surface. Either for air or for food, it doesn't matter. When she next surfaces, so too shall he."

"Then we shall take the girl when she is least expecting it?" he asked, tilting his head to the side

" _You_ shall take her when he isn't looking," he corrected, "We don't want that annoying pesk on our trail."

"Yes sir," the young man disappeared, leaving his master in the remaining darkness

 _I will have the last Hattori in my ranks_ , he thought, spinning in his seat to look out at the great village he fought so hard to protect. _To have one…she could be the most useful of all her kin._ And to think, all he had to do was 'kill' her a few hundred times to get her to evolve adequately and become the strongest of all his soldiers.

If he could get that little survivor, he could mold her into _the perfect_ shinobi—even more perfect then a little Uchiha heir

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are wonderful**

 **Helpful criticismis lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **Please no cursing!**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	3. Chapter 3

**First Impressions**

Chapter 3: Poisonous Ruins

Koomahana

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _ **Inner Sakura**_

(She'll show up at some point)

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

They had one chance to make it through the tunnels. He knew the girl was his master's ultimate goal, the child he wanted recruited more than anything else; and he was willing to die to get him that child. Their forces were steadily decreasing, not just because the capture of the girl was killing their best but also because of their enemies outside of the village. Those who hate Konoha the most have been testing their boundaries heavier than usual, even going so far as sending in suicide squads. People who had nothing else to live for then the completion of their missions, failure meant death. He could understand that mind set, many in root held the same mind set, the same philosophy that failure was unacceptable. Danzo came before all else and Konoha became a secondary concern, they would only protect it if Danzo required them to. Right now, Danzo required the little girl who slipped from their ranks for the last time; they found her weakness and they were ready to exploit it.

"Ready little brother?" his eyes popped open and he looked wide eyed at his partner

"Map ready?" he asked in return, trying to conceal the uneasy feeling of sickness in his belly

"We'll have to test it to confirm it," he replied with a frown, "got your gas mask?"

"It's required here," he replied calmly slipping the obnoxious looking mask into place, "where's the first Platoon?"

"No one's making contact," his friend stuffed his pale hair further into the mask, keeping it from possibly getting in his way, "They're most likely dead."

"Understood," their trackers should be able to give them a proper path to take in that hall, the further in they find the corpses, the more information they'll be able to take back. "Second platoon?"

"Same," he stood and stretched, checking his sword and weapons before looking down at the shorter boy with one hand on his hip, "ready little brother?"

"Of course," he replied, rising to his own feet, tucking a scroll and brush away and out of sight, "my mice and hawks have already determined the safest roots we can take."

"Good, you follow your ink and I'll follow mister clan head," he could hear the smirk in his friend's voice

…

* * *

…

"Ino are you sure we're on the right path?" Shikamaru whispered, adjusting his hold on the dizzy blonde held up between him and Choji. Ino rolled her face towards him; her unfocused blue eyes were spinning and trying to focus on him. "Of course, how silly of me," Shikamaru sighed, wobbling forward with Choji, "You shouldn't try that mind connection again, it wears you out too much." Ino snorted and rolled her head back onto Choji's shoulder, trying to move her feet in time to their walking. Shikamaru sighed and tightened his hold on Ino's waist and arm, calmly moving the three of them through the dark forest of their home.

"Shikamaru," Chōji whispered softly, "do you see anything?"

"Hold on," Shikamaru whispered, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, scanning the darkness surrounding him carefully. Because of his family's techniques, they developed a rather not so good side effect. They could move shadows to do their biddings, but they could also see nearly perfectly at night, depending on how much light is surrounding them. The down side is that daylight has a tendency to give them headaches, the reason they slept so often during daytime, sleeping seemed to make the headaches lesson. "I see a break in the trees up ahead," Shikamaru whispered, his eyes widening as they snapped around to take in every image he could see, "Twenty feet ahead, past the break, there's a river."

"Is it the same river as before?" Chōji asked, Ino gave a slurred agreement, her eyes rolling to look ahead blurry eyed, "are you sure you're okay Ino?" Chōji asked, turning his attention back onto the blonde, "I think you need a doctor or at least your fa—"

"No," Ino slurred, her knees buckling slightly before she was able to take another step, leaning a little heavier on Shikamaru, "S~Sakura…"

"Alright," Shikamaru sighed, "We'll keep going… can she help you?" Ino gave a shaky nod and a hum, Chōji sighed but continued with them anyways. There was no way he'd abandon his friends, not now, not ever.

"Let's go," Shikamaru grunted, stepping over a root easily and calmly guiding his friends through the darkness

 _There's something wrong,_ Ino thought, trying her best not to feint from chakra exhaustion. She knew there was something… strange in the trees, following them silently. She knew there was something but she couldn't focus enough to tell what it was. Her father was starting on her training with sensing but she honestly wasn't that great at it just yet, but she could sense small animals within a certain radius. Right now though, Ino could swear there was someone watching them, she just wasn't a hundred percent sure.

"Ino-chan?" Shikamaru whispered, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Ino whispered, for a moment her blue eyes focused and locked on a tree a few dozen feet away

…

* * *

…

Shikaku coughed as he continued to walk through the dimly lit hall Sakura led him down, according to visor of his gas-mask, the hall was miasma free but Sakura didn't let him remove his mask yet. Sakura's head tilted from side to side in a soft rhythm, her hands swinging at her sides as she hummed cheerfully. He was still following her steps as best as he could but it was difficult to take children steps after so many years of making children follow his steps. Having to stop and wait for a child to take twenty steps just so he could take five was slightly annoying but he wasn't about to complain about the results.

"Sakura-chan are we safe yet?" Shikaku asked as calmly as he could as stopped again to wait for the girl to walk ahead of him, he looked up at the dark ceiling high overhead.

"Safe?" Sakura repeated, stopping to look back at him with a giggle, Shikaku felt his brow twitch as he turned his attention back to her. "Uh… no gas!" Sakura said with a nervous smile, as if that made up for her forgetting to tell them that the halls were now safe enough to walk in his own path.

" _Indeed,_ " Shikaku turned and looked at the ghostly figure of Mebuki, staring at her dully as her body shimmered into existence. Mebuki raised her head and her eyes open to stare dully at him, " _you've been followed by a sensor and his guard._ " Shikaku flinched at the implication, his eyes widening as Mebuki's image turned to an alarmed looking Sakura, " _take him to the heart._ "

"B-but!" Sakura stuttered, looking like she was beginning to panic

" _Go_ ," Mebuki ordered before disappearing completely

"M-Mamorigami-hime," Sakura whispered brokenly, tears flying to her emerald eyes

"It'll be okay Sakura-chan," Shikaku said as he took a deep breath, "She can't get hurt, remember that okay?" Sakura turned her panicked stricken face towards him, fear and hope swirling in eyes, Shikaku tried very hard not to react.

"O…Okay," Sakura sniffed and rubbed at her eyes viscously before she nodded courtly and started running forward, forcing Shikaku to dash after her. Watching Sakura run ahead of him, Shikaku realized just how fast she truly was and how it must've been a miracle for Shikamaru and his friends to even keep up with the girl. After a moment, Shikaku realized that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the mask on, so he quickly ripped it off and just barely managed to avoid a kunai in the processes. Deciding that the mask was more dangerous in this too dark hallway, Shikaku kept the mask off and let his eyes re-adjust to the dim lighting. As far as he could tell, the dim hall was alight by a feint blue light off in the distance far in front of him, but other than that, he couldn't determine where it was coming from.

"Sakura-chan!" Shikaku called, realizing the light at the end of the hall was growing brighter and brighter, "What's ahead?"

"Center!" Sakura replied sharply

" _Please hurry Shikaku-san, Kodomo,_ " Shikaku's eyes jerked towards the image on the wall, flying beside him like the woman was right there running beside him, as she did once as a child. " _You must hurry, I have to seal the hall and you aren't at the center,_ " Shikamaru gritted his teeth and added chakra to his legs, catching up to Sakura he quickly lifted the girl into his arms just as the first explosion echoed down the hall. " _Once you get to the end of the hall, jump over the rail,_ " Mebuki ordered, Shikaku wanted to disagree but another explosion had the illusion woman snarling and disappearing before he could.

"Safe," Sakura whispered, wrapping her arms around Shikaku's neck, "Trust me." Shikaku gulped and nodded courtly, Sakura's arms tightened around him for a moment before she scrambled herself over his shoulder and settled herself on his back. Shikaku's eyes narrowed in understanding as he reached the end of the hall, his arms wrapped under Sakura's legs and as soon as he reached the end of the hall and the rail beyond it he jumped just as he was instructed. The instant he caught sight of the pitch blackness hovering below him like the gaping mouth of a monster, he regretted listening to the hologram.

"$* * _!_ " Shikaku screamed as he fell straight down, disappearing into the pitch blackness feet first, unwilling to place Sakura in danger. Sakura in the meantime was busy laughing up a storm, clearly enjoying herself with the free fall.

"Here!" Sakura giggled out, unhooking something from beneath her cloak, wrapped a rope around Shikaku's body and then threw the end at the darkness far to the left. "Safe!" Sakura giggled as the rope tightened, knocking the wind out of Shikaku, and forced them to veer off to the right. Shikaku was sure they were going to smash into a wall but instead Sakura released the rope and he found himself landing and sliding onto his feet, thankfully without injuring himself.

"Hurry," Sakura whispered, removing the rope from Shikaku and untangling herself form his back. "Hurry Shikaku," Shikaku blinked and turned, his eyes dilating to take in what little light the black hall did hold, before hurrying after a fast walking pinkette. "Not safe here," Sakura whispered as she moved forward, taking Shikaku's hand while she was at it, pulling him down the dark hall.

"Are the shadow animals here?" Shikaku asked as he hurried beside the pinkette, silently noting how Sakura's hand tightened around his briefly before she hummed in agreement. "Do you know what they want?"

"Yes," Sakura answered softly, "Me."

…

* * *

…

 _Damn her!_ He slid to a stop, nearly sliding across the rubble strewn ground to avoid the sharp poison lased weapons thrown from his right. No matter what they did, never seemed to avoid the woman completely, one of them was often caught before they could get into position. They had managed to make the map a little longer, detailing the hall the best they could, using advanced scanning lasers to detect what their eyes couldn't perceive; so far it was working. Using the trackers on their men when they went in showed them everything that was around them in a fifteen foot radius, in almost perfect clarity. The maps connected to the lasers and trackers became more and more detailed with every step they took, incidentally telling them exactly where each trigger step was and where each weapon release was. The technology department did a beautiful job with the inventions, too bad the creature wasn't around to make more devises like the laser-tracker-map-maker thing. Still, their newest tool seemed useless with the woman who always appeared and disappeared before any of them could attack her. She was a ghost and a demon, someone worth fearing and defiantly worthy of killing—if any of them could manage it.

" _I've warned you men for the last time_ ," the woman's voice sounded hollowly threw the orange-mist filled hall, echoing off the piles of rubble, bodies and scattered weapons, " _It is time for all of you to die_."

"I would be happy to take you with us," he snarled, quickly leaping into the air, landing and clueing himself on the roof almost expertly. "Care to come out of your hiding place, little Ms. Ghost?"

" _A ghost can't kill_ ," the woman's voice sounded behind him, forcing him to look at the stone beneath his hands and feet, the stone he was hanging from. Above him was the face of the woman he's been fighting for the past hour and a half, her furious green eyes gleamed at him from the mist and dust of the hall. " _But a hologram can_." He snarled at her, racked a Kunai threw the stone he was attached too and quickly sprinted down the hall, keeping himself glued to the ceiling the best he could. " _You can't run forever,_ " the woman said, appearing on the stone as he ran, " _You will run out of chakra eventually._ "

"Not as soon as you think," he growled, grabbing his tanto and filling it with chakra, "I've trained for this part!"

" _What?!_ " her eyes widened and he barely had the time to smirk before he plunged the chakra charged blade into the ceiling and used it like a high-powered rocket. Using his sword like a surfboard wasn't easy, kind of fun after you get used to the feeling blood pouring into your head, but it wasn't easy. Using it on the ceiling was even less fun and no near as easy as on the earthen ground; he found out the hard way that the rock encasing the hall wasn't rock. It was some kind of hard screen that looked like a rock, he knew it was a screen because there were wires, glass, and expensive chunks of metal falling to the floor below as he zoomed past. He didn't know what possessed the Hattori clan to build a hallway full of monitors but they did and he was fairly sure that the creator was rolling in their grave for the complete destruction he was leaving behind.

" _Mouse to hawk, come in_ " the soft almost timid voice sounded in his ear, making him smirk

"Hawk to mouse, here, what is it?"

" _I've found the exact route to take,_ " His partner whispered, " _it appears that the clan head had a soft spot for people. He carried one of our men all the way to a safe location._ "

"Translation would be best," he quickly avoided a very sharp looking spear that whipped out of the floor and threatened to impale him, he then had to avoid a giant swinging ax aimed for his entire body.

" _I'm past the traps and in the safe zone,_ " his partner whispered, " _but I don't want the woman finding me yet. How long can you distract her?_ "

" _You will die!_ " he barely managed to dodge a blast of smoke that was apparently very explosive

"I suppose I can have some fun for an hour or two"

…

* * *

…

Sakura turned at the sound of a very loud boom that echoed all the way down to her location, nearly one hundred feet below the surface of the earth. At the deepest level of the compound, the fifteenth level, and she could hear nearly every explosion from above as if it were happening on the floor above her head. The room she sat in now had a hundred foot high ceiling, the near perfectly circular room was approximately two hundred feet wide. The underground bunker was supported by several large pillars stationed in key places around the room, each pillar also had a half formed wall attached that held shallow shelving. She may not have understood the purpose of the creation of the room, but she did know that if the shadow animals got to that level, she would forced to fight them herself.

She would be forced to kill…

"Sakura-chan," Shikaku called distractedly, "where are we?"

"The heart," Sakura answered absentmindedly, "We are at the creation of Mamorigami-hime."

"Her creation?" Shikaku questioned, in front of him was a hundred wide, perfectly round orb of rotating crimson and orange light. Softer trails of yellow light filtered against the ground like wiggling streams or snakes, eagerly seeking out new paths to escape the rotating orb. High overhead, the ceiling and most of the walls were covered in similar twisting lines of crimson snakes or rivers, as red as fresh blood. All he could figure was that crimson light over head was being pulled from the floors above him (and possibly the surface of the ground) and forced it into a single rotating orb of light, then shot out towards the bottom where it filtered back into the earth. But if that was the case then this rotating orb of light had to be the Kiyobi's miasma, if that was the case then the Hattori clan figured out a way to control the miasma. Not just control it, but neutralize or even, maybe, purify it and even return it back to the thing that was its primary source of creation: the earth.

"You mean this thing created her?" Shikaku asked, glancing back at Sakura without really looking at her, still amazed with the sheer size of the apparent chakra orb. He was even beginning to wonder how the Hattori clan figured out how to do and he was very near asking Sakura to let him wonder around the grounds and search out for information on the matter.

"That thing is her heart," Sakura answered, turning around to observe Shikaku, watching the orange and yellow light dance across his features. "Destroy it and she shall die. Destroy it and all of the miasma will return to attacking the village." Shikaku turned around very slowly, his eyes widening as he stared at one very serious looking little girl. "Destroy Mother's sacrifice and the village shall perish in screams and blood" Sakura said as she marched forward and hovered her hand over the surface of the orb. As if obey some silent command, the portion beneath Sakura's palm clarified, as if the miasma decided to avoid her touch at whatever coast. Sakura looked back at Shikaku for a moment before looking into the center of the orb herself, Shikaku quickly followed her example and stiffened at what he saw.

"That can't be," Shikaku whispered, his eyes widening, "that… that's impossible!"

"Nothing in this world is impossible," Sakura recited, her image flickering for a moment, "the word itself spells 'I'm possible'."

…

* * *

…

"Ino are you sure we're on the right track?" Chōji asked, his face paling further than usual, "I… I don't feel so good…"

"N-neither do I," Shikamaru whispered, leaning heavily against Ino, "I… I feel sick!"

"I know, I did too," Ino said softly, carefully letting both boys slip from her sides, "This is why I wanted to come alone. You two aren't used to this miasma, from here on out, you'll only slow me down."

"I-Ino…" Shikamaru wheezed, "How… how far have you gone?"

"To the edges of the ruins," Ino answered, she looked around herself carefully, her eyes narrowing in irritation. "We were followed… I don't know where they are hiding but they'll show themselves soon enough." Ino looked up at the sky through the tree branches high overhead, "you two can't follow me. From here on, I have to go on a lone." Ino looked down at her sickly white friends, a sad smile on her face, "Thank you for following me this far."

"I… Ino," Shikamaru wheezed

"Don't worry," Ino interrupted, "I know the passage Sakura would take to get into the ruins. I can get in and out without getting sick by the miasma. When I come back, she'll be with me and she'll be able to heal you like she did with me, okay?"

"But—"

"No buts," Ino stepped away from her friends, "I'll be back before you know it!"

…

* * *

…

 **Sorry you guys, I really did try to make this longer but it took me so long and now I've hit a wall, it might be a while before I update again…**

 **Sorry**

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **Please no cursing!**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 8**


	4. Chapter 4

**First Impressions**

Chapter 4: Survivor's remorse

Koomahana

 **Sorry guys, I wanted to update this for Christmas but it wasn't complete by then**

 **so here it is! the wonderful Chapter 4 you've all been waiting for!**

 **I hope you all like it :)**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

Eight years ago

…

* * *

…

They were all laughing and celebrating the day away, their night a blaze of endless fireworks, music and light shows. She herself spent the day tending to her new born daughter and boisterous husband, both of whom seemed to be having a blast. It was if nothing could go wrong. Mebuki stopped walking as she watched an earthen platform slid into existence, courtesy of her one of her relatives, and a flier spring into the air challenging the women of the clan to show off their dancing skills. Several of her more prideful relatives imminently jumped at the chance to dance, something everyone loved to do, and started showing off their graceful swirling and soft steps. Every kunochi of their clan soon joined in on the growing dance floor, letting their talents bloom around them in beautiful colors and elegant flairs. One made dozens of leaves dance around her as if she were a wind sprit; another had droplets of water elegantly twirling like liquid snow dancing on the wind. Grace was something their women had plenty of, elegance was earned through years of hard work and their beauty was inherited from their mothers. Suddenly one of the musicians nearby threw up a drumstick, caught it, smirked at her, and purposefully let the wind swirl around her as if mockery. Several of the dancing women each howled and whistled, their men soon joining in, a loud and boisterous challenge. She looked at her husband and saw the amused smile on his face, his blue eyes dancing proudly as he looked down at her and their daughter. With a smile she handed her seven month old daughter to her husband and hurried to the dance floor, ignoring the laughter and whistles of her clansmen.

"Go honey!" Kizashi smiled brightly waving one hand wildly in the air while her daughter giggled helplessly, "Show'em the light dance!"

"Just what am I going to do with you two?" She whispered, stepping into the middle of the dance floor, smiling as everyone scattered for her. She let the fast beat of the music fill her and soon she was glowing with the moonlight that shone from above, the lights shining from the houses and shining down on the roads were suddenly bending to her will. As a genin she had been ambushed by some Kumo-nin, they thought they could bury her alive but they were unaware of who she was. Her very first transformation was the ability to create light in the darkness that threatened to suffocate her, becoming bioluminescent wasn't easy. The sense of liquid fire crawling through her flesh to surface on her skin was alarming and she very nearly clawed her skin off to stop the sensation. However, those Kumo-nin's mistake was her survival, she grew stronger and stronger with every day that passed and eventually she was known as 'Hikari-Ōjo', the princess of light.

Returning to the present, Mebuki twirled with the music and glowing sparkles followed, she dipped and her skin flared bright white, she took one of her clansmen by the hand and led her through an elegant family dance of bending light and glowing raindrops.

Suddenly it was if someone pressed pause, everything fell silent, everyone was statue still—nothing dared to move nor breathe

Then, as if someone flipped a switch, chaos was surrounding them, screams echoed high into the air, the deafening roar of a monster threatened to burst their eardrums and a chakra strong enough to evoke that childhood fear of being buried alive resurfaced to the for front of Mebuki's mind. She could nearly feel the presence of thick damp soil pinning her limbs in place, preventing her from moving. The pure blackness of the unforgiving depth threatened to steal her last dregs of air, collapse her lungs and steal her life. She screamed shrilly as the memory surrounded her, consuming her; her power reacted without thought on her part. A blinding light burst from Mebuki's body, consuming the darkness and beating it away from her person but it didn't stop there. Her powerful and blinding light grew a hundred fold, shining brightly throughout the entirety of the village, turning their night into day, waking everyone who dared to sleep. The demon one hundred eighty miles from the walls of her village turned to her, his glowing crimson eyes narrowed in hatred. He roared and summoned up a glowing purple ball of pure miasma, aiming it straight at the blinding white light threatening to bind even him.

Gritting his teeth, Kizashi quickly kneeled onto the ground, forming a single hand sign to do his bidding. The earth surfaced and swallowed his daughter whole, protecting her from the blinding light emitting from her mother. Then he sat back, staring fondly at the earthen dome, and rose to his feet again. Kizashi widened his stance, slapped his palms together and glared right back at the demon threatening his family.

He was unafraid

"Spring style: Nature's purity!" Kizashi slammed his twisted his fingers into an odd symbol, his middle and thumb connected and looped with the same fingers of his other hand, his remaining fingers spread out wide. His own special bloodline activating to create its own brand of chaos; filling the occupants of the village with serenity and familiarity. The monster fired his Tailed Beast Ball, seemingly smirking as it sailed faster than the speed of light towards the village he so hated. Then he felt a burst of power fill and surround the village, his attack hit but didn't seem to do any damage, it just dissipated on impact, leaving nothing behind but wisps of smoke. At first he thought that the light was doing something, preventing his attack from hitting perhaps, but he soon realized that the power from the village was racing towards him and he jumped to avoid the wave just in time. Realization struck him with cold dread as he saw the very trees attacking his form, preventing him from getting too close to the village and protecting if from every chakra powered attack he threw. The trees were absorbing his attacks and neutralizing them, even giving the wasted energy back to the shinobi of the leaf, healing their wounds and giving them strength while at the same time sapping his own.

"Kizashi of the spring," the man on top of the demon drawled, "who knew he was this strong." He stared dully at the blinding light encompassing the village, aiding the leaf shinobi but hindering his vision, "and Hikari-Ōjo as well… never thought the two of them could stop the great nine-tails." He never thought the two of them could be much of a threat, Mebuki never liked to show off her power and Kizashi was still labeled as a Genin. It would seem that Konoha retired him forcefully regardless of his rather impressive skills.

"Doesn't matter in the end," the man drawled, ignoring the trees clueing themselves to the fox's feet. He wouldn't be able to move but he could still use his tails and his Tailed Beast Balls were still effective even from this range. "They'll still die… along with that disgusting village," He watched blandly as a burst of smoke appeared just before the village gates and a great crimson toad stood defiantly in his way.

"You're done for Madara!" the Yondaime shouted at him, "That light is 'Shihikari', Mebuki Hattori's strongest technique! It'll prevent any harm from ever coming to any Leaf shinobi and reflect all damage back onto the caster! And the trees wrapping around the Kiyobi's feet are Kizashi Haruno's specialty! The technique his family created to counter the nine great Bijuus! That demon will never move beyond that spot!"

"Ah but the Haruno clan are down to just one member are they not?" the man countered easily, "and this forest technique requires more chakra then that man has." The Yondaime flinched at the information, realization filling him. "That's right, Kizashi Haruno will die and so will his bloodline, legacy and everything else related to him. He is after all, the last of his kind."

"You're wrong!" the Yondaime screamed out, his toad jumping forward to attack, "Kizashi is strong enough! He will survive! Because he has something you don't know about!"

"And what is that?" Madara asked lazily, watching one tail smash into the toad, only to have the Yondaime jump off and run along the very same limb

"The ability to merge with Nature itself!" the Yondaime screamed, disappearing from the tail only to reappear in the sky, "Kizashi can manipulate the natural chakra's surrounding him, he can merge with it!" he disappeared again and this time Madara had to dodge the Rasengan, letting it slam straight into the Kiyobi's forehead, "He will survive!" the demon roared in pain, one paw ripping out of the tangling trees to scrap irately at his nose, trying to remove the blonde menus. The Kiyobi backed away, shaking his head, but his paw was reattached to the forest floor with a great lunge of the trees, grabbing hold of him and pulling him straight down. The endless sea of sentient trees was soon joined by the golden glowing chains of the last known Uzumaki, Madara snarled as his beast was caught and made a hasty retreat. Not even the great Kiyobi could fight the chains of the Uzumaki heir; she was a force not to be taken lightly.

Back in the Hattori clan compound, the clansmen were scattering to send their children to safety, set up the emergency seal array their ancestors built and avoid the growing panic of the civilians. Once Mebuki realized that there was something wrong with her husband's chakra signature, she calmed down enough to look for him. Her white light dissipated to reveal a great tree growing in her husband's once place, at the base an earthen bed sat with a hysterically crying toddler inside. Mebuki ran forward in a panic, her skin still glowing to counter the sea of darkness of her compound, she skidded into a stop and wrapped her arms around her hysteric child.

"Mebuki-chan," she snapped her eyes up, searching for the voice of her beloved, her green eyes imminently landed on the still growing tree in front of her, the gruffly face of her husband smiled sadly back at her. She stared horrified up at him, knowing that he was performing the forbidden technique of his clan, the earth-bind-seal. The technique would forever bind him to the earth in the form of a tree; in return the caster will live on eternally as that tree, their chakra forever bound to Nature's. Their last, dyeing will, lived on in the surrounding area for all of eternity.

"Kizashi," Mebuki whispered in horror, her eyes wide as tears steadily slid down her still glowing cheeks, "Of all the stupid things for you to do…"

"It was the only way to stop him," Kizashi whispered, his tanned cheeks browning to match that of the tree he was slowly becoming, "the Kiyobi was resisting the Nature bind seal so I was forced to use this… I'm sorry love."

"Just how do you expect to raise Sakura-chan like that huh?" Mebuki asked, sniffing to keep the snot from rolling down her lip

"Oh love, I'll always be with her like this," Kizashi chuckled, "just as I'll always be with you. So long as you remain in the land of fire, the trees of this country will protect you."

"Mebuki!" she looked up at the strangled sound of her mother, her voice choked with tears and panic, "Mebuki we have to get underground! The miasma will enter the compound in five minutes!" the white haired woman slid to a stop, her teal eyes growing wide as she stared dumbfounded at the tree with Kizashi's face, understanding filling her as he smiled sadly back at her.

"The seal will be activated?" Mebuki asked with a sniffle, whipping her wet nose against the long white sleeve of her dress, "but that would destroy the compound."

"Better than the village and hundreds of innocent lives," her mouther countered, shaking herself out of her surprise and grief, "You know the price for the seal. You have to move."

"Yes mother," Mebuki stumbled her way onto her feet and started running for the compound barracks, she stopped once to look back at the only thing remaining of her husband. "I love you," Mebuki whispered, hugging her child close as the girl wailed in her ear, one hand fisted into her neck line. Mebuki took off again, hurrying to the underground safety network. It wasn't long before she was flying through the darkened halls of the massive underground network, her body glowing to counter the darkness. Her mother was close behind and her daughter's wailing had subsided into terrified sobbing, Mebuki tightened her hold on her daughter briefly. Suddenly the wall of the hall cracked and burst open, her mother shouted as a large chunk of it slammed into her, pinning her to the opposite wall.

"Mom!" Mebuki screamed, sliding to a stop to look back at the elder woman

"Run," the woman coughed, blood dribbling past her lips, "you have to run…" Mebuki looked at the destroyed wall, her eyes widening as wisps of orange smoke filtered into the all, restrained only by the roots of a tree high above them. "Run," her mother wheezed, "You have to… run…" with a sob, Mebuki turned and ran again, her skin glowing and lighting her way through the darkness of the halls. She tried to ignore the sobbing of children, the screaming of the wounded, the cries of orders given; it was by far too much for her take on all at once. She knew about the kiyobi just as all Hattori's know, and she knew that it was sealed within her teammate and best friend Kushina Uzumaki. She didn't know that the demon's miasma would be so powerful as to rot away their ancient underground network, designed to protect them from the very thing killing them.

"Computer!" Mebuki screamed as she took a sharp corner and barely managed to avoid a sentient cloud of miasma, "Show me to the heart!"

" _Access denied_ ," the voice of the computer network replied calmly, " _information permitted only to the clan head._ "

"My mother is dead!" Mebuki screamed, green eyes glaring coldly at the nearest wall and rails, knowing that the cold blue light was the computer's 'eye'. "I am Clan head now so do as I order you!"

" _Confirming lady Ainoi's death,_ " the computer replied, making the blonde woman scoff, " _confirmation of lady Ainoi's death, repeated news to all clansmen. Mebuki Hattori is now clan head, request granted. Please jump off the railing in five seconds._ " Mebuki grunted, her eyes locking in on the break in the railing, she looked down to the left seeing nothing but an endless sea of blackness.

"If I die for this you are to self-destruct," Mebuki grumbled as she grabbed the rail and sling-shot herself into the empty space of pure darkness.

" _Request denied,_ " the computer retaliated emotionlessly, " _Creator permitted self-destruction on the condition that the entirety of the Hattori clan is whipped out._ "

…

She stood proud and tall in the very center of the seal array, knowing it didn't span just the entirety of the clan compound but also the entirety of the village. Several other clan members surrounded the edges of the seal, each covered in wounds, some more serious than others.

"How much time do we have?" Mebuki asked, her skin still glowing despite the illuminating golden light of the massive seal

"None my lady," the nearest elder answered sorrowfully, "the hope of our clan now rests on your shoulders."

"May destiny shine in your favor," the others murmured, far into the corner Mebuki spotted the last children of her clan, each of them were as young as a few months old and some as old as fourteen. She knew her people were strong, they endured and survived where all others had fallen and died, but it would seem that not even her people could adapt to the Kiyobi's toxic miasma.

"I pray that Destiny will be kind to us," Mebuki whispered, watching her power grow with the strength of the seal, beginning to shine throughout the entire room to reach every nook and cranny. "May she guild us, protect us, and let us survive this strife," Mebuki held her daughter out in front of her, tears streaming down her face as she stared up into those fearful, sleepy orbs. She felt the moment the miasma broke free of the half-mile thick door, entering the white washed room with a furious vengeance.

"Protect us all," Mebuki whispered, letting the Kiyobi's power surround her, "Protect us…"

"Forbidden art: Black chakra purification!" Mebuki screamed as she was forced to fuse with the lethal seal, her daughter all but ripped from her hands as she tried to remain sane in the storm of pain and despair.

…

* * *

…

The image on the orb faded into brilliant white as the seal activated and consumed his friend's body and soul. Her screams no longer sounded but he could still hear them echoing in his mind. The images faded to reveal what was inside the orb, the curled up form of his friend, still glowing soft white despite the orange of the fox's chakra and the golden light of Nature. Slowly Shikaku turned to stare in complete horror and awe at the little girl standing beside him, realization slowly creeping through his veins. He watched as the little girl's image flickered again, confirming his suspicions and evoking more questions.

"You…" Shikaku whispered, watching as the girl turned dispassionate eyes towards him, "You're not human… are you?"

She blinked slowly at him, as if she hadn't expected that question

"No," the girl answered, "When did you know?"

"Your image flickered when you showed me Mebuki," Shikaku answered slowly, "Where is the real Sakura Haruno?"

"She is safe," the false pinket replied giving up the charade, "and she's a Hattori."

"Perhaps, but her mother cave up that name when she married Kizashi," Shikaku countered, "That makes her a Haruno. Now, are you a hologram as well?"

"That makes no difference to us," the girl replied, "and… it'll be too difficult to explain what I am so yes, you may think of me as a hologram."

…

* * *

…

Ino panted as she focused on sensing the chakra signatures around her, running and sensing wasn't easy for her but she was getting better at it. Now that she had a taste of the miasma she knew how to sense for it and as such, avoid it—well, avoid it as best as she could; there was only so many places she could get too. Suddenly the rubble beneath her feet gave and Ino gave a startled shout, her eyes widening to watch in slow motion as one hand stretched out to the top of the wall she had been climbing. Just as sudden as the giving of earth, another hand wrapped around her wrist, keeping her from falling into the orange mist of the Kiyobi's miasma.

"Ino," she stared up into warm emeralds, a smile slipping onto her face as the younger girl pulled her up to the top of the damaged wall

"Sakura," Ino greeted warmly, her blue eyes dancing in the moonlight of the night

"Not safe," Sakura whispered rising to her full height and tugging her hood on over her head, "Shadow animals followed."

"So I was right that someone was following," Ino sighed, her shoulders slumping, "I'm sorry."

"No," Sakura smiled at her, "Friends?"

"Ah, Shikamaru and Chōji!" Ino gasped in realization, "the Miasma got to them, they're—"

"In danger," Sakura frowned at her, "lead me."

"Of course," Ino smiled at her and followed the pinket to the safest route out of the ruined compound, her blue eyes watchful as she studied her surroundings. They passed a half destroyed house, a baby crib dangling dangerously from the edge of the second story floor, a teddy bear nestled in the bottom corner. Ino stared at the crib for a moment before she continued on through the dangerous path, sticking as close as she could to Sakura. She stopped with Sakura on the end of their stone wall, staring at an ancient tree with a large stone platform sitting just beneath it, what could only be described as a baby's stone crib sat close to the tree's base. Nearby, Ino could see other children's toys, little dolls and toy trucks, wooden kunai and shuriken, as well as building blocks. She could even see large wooden stands that she imagined once sold food or perhaps sold masks or even gold fish if you could catch them. it was as if the Compound was a miniaturized version of the village, the sector they were in was like the street market flanked by the houses on the far end and a children's park on the other. As if their compound had their houses to the edges and all of their entertainment in the center, their daycare centers, parks and even the market.

"October tenth," Sakura whispered mournfully, "Celebration day…"

"The day of the Kiyobi attack," Ino whispered in horror, her eyes widening as she realized that there was more to the story then just what they knew. Ino swept her eyes out over the abandoned destroyed compound, covered in dust, poisonous gasses, debris and what she could now make out to be the skeletons of those too slow to retreat.

"Best this way," Sakura whispered turning to look for their newest safe path, "Better us then entire village." At first, Ino didn't understand, she couldn't comprehend the meaning of the girl's words but she did slowly begin to understand as they returned to traveling again. Her friend may not have been able to speak when they first met three months ago but the girl was a fast learner and was smarter than anyone would've thought her to be. She could read and wright and she could do math, she was like a sponge that absorbed everything without letting a single drop of information slip past. It was as if she couldn't let go of any kind of information, once she saw it, heard it, felt it, tasted it, it was memorized down to the finest details of the seconds.

Ino may not have understood why Sakura believed that it was best for her clan to be sacrificed in the Kiyobi attack rather than someone else's, but she did understand the cold logical opinion. Fifty people dyeing were better than one thousand and one clan's annihilation was better than the entire village's destruction. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to walk through these haunting husks of her once powerful people, nor could she imagine the entire village taking place of this compound. The village survived the Kiyobi's attack, even progressed and developed from it but its survival was at the coast of the entire Hattori clan. The clan could've designed their compound to be protected from the attack of a Bijuu and left the rest of the village to fend for itself but they didn't. Their ancestors, the final key of founders of their village, thought it best to sacrifice their very souls for the sake of the village and that mind set didn't die with them. Ino was looking at the last survivor of the clan and she knew the girl had the same mind set as her ancestors; the belief that sacrifices for the greater good were necessary for survival.

Ino doubted anyone else in the village would feel the same as her friend. After all, who would willing sacrifice their own clan for the sake of the village?

…

* * *

…

 **I don't know if I'll be able to produce another chapter any time soon but I'll try, it's a little difficult getting used to writing three or four stories at the same time.**

 **How I did I do it the first time?**

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 9**


	5. Chapter 5

**First Impressions**

Chapter 5: In friends we trust

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

Shikamaru coughed as he pushed himself on to his back, sleepy brown eyes staring at his knocked out friend. He knew Ino wouldn't leave them without a good reason, which meant that they were in a lot of trouble. He just hoped that his friend would be back before someone else showed up. Gulping in the air, Shikamaru tried hard not to panic when the forest around him suddenly became alive. In the shadowed mist filling the trees around them, he could see a shapeless figure slowly approaching. Shikamaru pulled himself back on to his stomach and started to crawl closer to Chōji, if he got close enough, he might be able to protect them better. After a moment of crawling, the eight year old boy stopped, his forehead braced against the ground as he panted heavily.

 _Come on Shikamaru, you can do it!_ He coughed and looked up at his friend with teary eyes. Chōji had one eye open and was panting as hard as his friend. Shikamaru coughed and struggled to inch closer, worry filling him as a small trickle of blood started to gather in his friend's mouth. Breathing heavily, Chōji turned towards the shadow slowly approaching them. Now the shadow had morphed into a more animal appearance, however he couldn't tell if the animal was friendly or not, he couldn't even tell what kind of animal it was. The only thing he had going for him was that it didn't have any horns and he knew the shadow was most likely exaggerated so the animal approaching had to be at least half the size as the shadow.

"Sh... Shika..." Chōji gasped, his friend didn't respond making him worry more as the strange creature steadily drew closer. Just as Chōji was about to open his mouth again, a strange haunting howl echoed through the air, making the creature stop and turn towards it and making Chōji fear that the creature was actually a wolf. The creature turned back to them, as if studying them, then it tilted its head to the sky and let out an echoing, haunting howl of its own. Chōji felt a shiver roll over his shoulders at the sound, it was as if the creature was mourning the death of a loved one and telling everyone in the forest about the loss it suffered from. He coughed and tried to reach his friend, hoping he could protect the now unconscious shadow user, however the creature didn't appear to be alone and Chōji found himself staring up into a pair of glowing crimson eyes.

 _No,_ Chōji thought in horror, identifying the long dark snot, shaggy dark fur, and triangular eyes all signature of a wolf. _No…_ the wolf growled low in the back of its throat. _No,_ he pulled back, fear and panic gripping him. _No,_ the shadowed wolf lowered itself to the ground, crimson glowing eyes glowing in the dark.

"No!" he screamed as it pounced, _I'm gonna die!_

…

* * *

…

Ino jerked in the direction of the startled scream, her friend turning into a statue at the sound, suddenly the wind blew and the mist surrounding them was suddenly suffocating them. Ino coughed harshly as dust was forced into her face, she felt a hand grip her wrist and she followed the hard tug blindly.

"Hurry," the voice of her friend whispered urgently, "Danger!" Ino nodded and formed a hand sign with her free hand, taking a deep breath she tried to concentrate on her surroundings as she ran blindly. It was a whole lot harder then she thought, she tripped countless times, ran into a pole, fell into a mud puddle, slipped on what she guessed to be ice, and tripped some more over roots and rocks. All the while, her friend seemed unhindered in the dark mist and thick dust that surrounded them; she was even apparently unhindered by Ino's lack of grace while running blind.

 _I have to find them!_ Ino thought as she picked herself up off the ground again and started running with her friend all over again, _I have to find them!_ She was the sensor! She can't let them down! She's the eldest! She has to protect them! Suddenly Ino's eyes popped open and it was as if a light switch was flipped, suddenly she could see in the dark mist and the thick dust didn't hinder her like it did before. Suddenly everything around her was humming with a warm, emerald green light, giving everything a perfect clarity as if it were mid-day and not night.

"Better?" Sakura whispered as they slowed to a stop, "Ino-chan better now?"

"Yes," Ino smiled fondly at the girl, "I'm much better now." Ino closed her eyes again and concentrated on the signatures she knew to be her friends, she smiled and nodded courtly, "I've got them, can I lead now?"

"Yes," Sakura answered just as calm and took off behind Ino, unconcerned with the ever thickening darkness of the night.

…

* * *

…

He moved silently down the dark corridors as carefully as he could. It didn't appear as if this portion of the underground network of tunnels were booby-trapped but he would rather be safe than sorry. So far he knew the Hattori clan liked spirals too much to be healthy, the entire main corridor was a giant, gently sloping spiral that really wasn't noticeable until about fifty feet down. Each branching hall appeared to be just an extension of the spiral, but he didn't go down all of them, he just sent his mice and serpents down the hall and moved on to the next hall. He knew that his ink creations would relate their findings to his main scroll that sat snuggly on his lower back, calmly collecting the information. Now he had to hope that his comrade was still living, which seemed so silly because the ghost woman had yet to appear before him. As if to mock him, a bright pale figure appeared thirty feet in front of him, forcing him to slide to a stop and retreat out of the woman's glow range.

" _I know you're there boy,_ " the woman said as she turned to look in his direction. " _I cannot allow you to travel any further, please leave your scroll and leave_ _these grounds_ _._ " He tried to steady his breathing but found it difficult; the woman's ghostly green eyes were near perfect reflections of that girl he met so long ago. " _I know you're the boy who made first contact with Kodomo,_ " the woman said softly, green eyes looking sad, " _I know you're the one who revealed her existence to your master… I know you're the one who made contact with the blonde girl, I know you're the one who led those children into the forest…_ "

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked, stepping closer to the glowing woman

" _Nothing_ ," the woman answered, " _you showed mercy to Kodomo, so I will do the same. On the condition that you do as I ask._ "

"And if I don't?" he asked wirily, lowering into a crouch

" _Then_ _your friend_ _will never leave the ruins_ ," the woman answered

…

* * *

…

Chōji felt something small, light, and fuzzy latching onto his arm by a pair of sharp paws. Sniffing Chōji carefully opened his eyes and watched in amazement as the moonlight filtered in from above and chased the mist away, lighting up the tiny creature hanging onto his arm. It was barely the size of his two hands, small and dark brown like syrup, it's eyes were bright yellow and dancing in the moon light, its two little paws were white with little black toes and its hind legs were all brown. The tiny creature yipped at him and seemed to be smiling in the way that only its kind could, like a child spotting a favorite toy.

 _A,_ Chōji stared in confusion at the tiny creature, lowering his arm so it would sit in his lap, _a fox?_ The tiny creature yipped again, as if agree to his thoughts and snuggled into his lap, as if it knew he would protect it. Chōji blinked rapidly, as if trying to come to terms with the information he was just given. In the direction that the tiny baby fox had come from, sitting like a noble, was another much larger fox, its keen yellow eyes watching him calmly. He continued to stare because at its feet were two other playing kittens and flanking its sides were two other much larger foxes, both as orange as fire with eyes as blue as the summer skies and as sharp as knifes. The fox sitting in the center, watching him with keen honey eyes, was the color of purest orange, as if it had stolen the color from a trespassing tiger. Feeling unnerved by the eyes of the foxes, Chōji lowered his eyes and stared sadly down at the little fox sitting in his lap, sleeping the night away. Smiling Chōji carefully lifted the baby fox from his lap and leaned back carefully, sitting the tiny thing on his chest as he put both hands behind his head. Silently he was hoping that so long as the baby sat on his chest it's mother wouldn't attack him, the baby fox seemed all too happy to curl up on his stomach and return to sleep. Smiling fondly at the baby, Chōji sighed and stared up at the now clear skies, smiling fondly at the crescent moon peeking through the clouds. Before he knew it, Chōji was asleep and the other baby foxes soon joined his side with their bother. The two large almost-crimson foxes carefully moved to observe the sleeping boy not far from the one surrounded in kits, and just as carefully as Chōji had moved the brown kit, the two adults gently moved the young boy to lay beside his friend, where the two kits curled up together on his side. The two adults then looked back at their siren commander and with a sleep blink of her approval, they both laid down on either side of the week boys, making sure to flip their tails around the boy's heads and feet so they could create a perfect little circle for the boys. The orange fox then tilted her head to the sky and let out three sharp barks, its voice echoing in the foggy mist of the forest.

…

* * *

…

Shikaku walked around the seemingly endless room, studying the glowing inscriptions written in purest golden light, forever curling over the expanse of stone that made up the chamber. He didn't recognize the language that the golden light was written in but he was beginning understanding the basic understanding of the inscriptions—at least he hoped he was. Shikaku thought back about the primary existence of the Hattori clan, they founded themselves on providing for the future, keeping track of history, avoiding making the same mistakes as their past… protecting the next generation. The Hattori clan existed to keep the next generation of survivors living, that was the whole point of their existence, the reason they would so willing give up their own life to spare a child's. That was why in the warring state's era they were called by several names: the 'keepers of time', the 'librarians', the 'wise / enlightened ones', the 'nymphs', the 'eternal ones', and… and they were also called the 'children's mercy' clan. The Hattori clan did whatever it took to spare a child from harm, to the point that none of their own children dared to go near the battle front until they were considered adults at the age of thirteen, sixteen for women.

"…Mamorigami-hime, can I ask you a question," Shikaku called out softly, he stopped walking and turned to regard the rest of the room, as if he expected someone to appear behind him. a hazy image of the woman appeared on the floor as if she were his shadow, for a projection, she seemed tiered but Shikaku figured that since she wasn't human she couldn't get tiered.

" _What is it Shikaku-san?_ " Mebuki asked in a tone of voice that said she was growing annoyed

"The Hattori clan is known for sparing children, even going so far as to put their own lives at risk to spare a child from harm," Shikaku said, staring down at the woman in boredom, "How is it, that they were unable to save their own children when they're so adapt at saving everyone else's?"

" _You are indeed who you claim to be,_ " Mebuki's image smirked at him

"You doubted my words?" Shikaku asked with a twitching eyebrow

" _Hm, the answer lies in the memory's I've shown you_ ," Mebuki replied calmly, dodging the question with ease, " _the clues are there, find them and the path shall be cleared._ " Shikaku blinked and the woman was gone, a loud rumbling overhead told him that the little 'shadow animals' had gotten too close for comfort and the hologram was now going to pay them undivided attention, which meant she was trusting him with her heart. Shikaku wasn't sure if a computer program was capable of trust but since she was modeled after his old friend he had no doubt that her disappearing act was a show of her trust in him.

 _Guess I better go over everything I know,_ Shikaku thought with a heavy sigh as he sat and focused on all the knowledge he had about the famed clan.

…

* * *

…

The next time Shikamaru woke, it was to the sound of chirping birds and the warmth of silk surrounding him. It took two seconds for Shikamaru to be wide awake, his face paling as he saw the thick copper fur tickling his face. As carefully as he could, Shikamaru slowly pushed himself up and stared down at the sleeping fox laying contently beside him. He turned to look behind him and relaxed slightly at the sight of his unharmed friend, sleeping soundly with a little brown bundle curled up on his chest. Feeling something shift on his legs, Shikamaru looked down and found himself staring down into sleepy amber eyes, the tiny creature it belonged to yawned and pawed at his arm, as if telling him to lay back down so it could get comfortable again. Instead of laying back down, Shikamaru situated himself to lean back on his palms instead, letting the two little kits laying his lap wake up and resituate themselves.

"I'm glad you're awake," Shikamaru stiffened at the whisper soft voice, "don't speak, you'll wake them." he carefully turned his head every which way, searching for the voice and wondering if he still wasn't dreaming. He felt a gentile pressure on his back and he turned in time to see a familiar lock of almost white hair brush against his shoulder. "You're way to tense," Ino whispered, relaxing against his back, smiling fondly as a tiny kit scrambled into her lap, "relax, you're safe now."

"How do you know?" Shikamaru asked, "I've never seen these creatures before… do you even know what they are?"

"They're called foxes," Ino answered softly, "and you have seen them… oh, wait you were sleeping that day so never mind." Shikamaru sighed at the jab, recalling the constant nagging he had to endure from his blonde friend and annoying mother whenever they found out he was sleeping in class again. Deciding to take Ino's advice, Shikamaru looked back up to the still dark sky, watching as what he could only assume to be the sun fight with the clouds to rise for the foggy day. He watched a few birds flicker from tree to tree, as if watching them in curiosity, like they've never seen a human before and didn't know what to do with them. It seemed like forever before he heard something rustling in the fog covered bushes a dozen paces from them; he stiffened and regarded the pale fog wirily.

"It's alright," Ino murmured sleepily, "it's just Sakura." Shikamaru nodded and relaxed, watching how a figure stepped out from the bushes, quickly followed by another creature larger than the two foxes surrounding him and his friends.

 _No way_

Slowly stepping out of the curling gray smoke of fog, was a familiar looking girl. She was dressed in a large pale pink kimono; the edges were rimmed in bright crimson circles with what looked like three tomoe circling each other inside. Her long pale pink hair was pulled back with a low ribbon, letting a few braided strands hang lose, her bangs were pushed to the side to give her sharp apple green eyes perfect clarity. Behind the pinket stood a large fox as orange as firelight, with eyes as keen and sharp as golden wire; watching him like a hawk. In the girl's arms was a dark reed basket full of fruits and nuts, along with a few leaves and grasses that he didn't recognize. In the large fox's mouth hung two very large rabbits, they had to be the biggest rabbits he'd ever seen in his entire life. The one was easily capable of standing on its hind legs and putting its forelegs on his shoulders, and completely hiding his body as a result. With the mist, feint sunlight, fox, the leafs and flowers in her hair and her overall appearance made the little girl appear to be a nymph of the forest, as if she wasn't human at all. Even her slitted pupils and sharp facial features carved from lack of eating daily, gave the young girl an other-worldly appearance.

For a moment Shikamaru doubted if that was the same girl he tried to save the other day or if he had fallen into a trap created by the spirit of the forest

"Shi~ka~," the girl said softly, turning on her perfectly bare feet, the girl approached him slowly, "hungry?" Shikamaru blinked as the girl stopped at the edge of the fox tail wrapped around his feet, she kneeled and offered him the basket of what he now knew to be food.

"ah-um… yeah, I mean, yes," Shikamaru stumbled over his words, carefully moving so he wouldn't jostle the babies in his lap or make Ino uncomfortable. "Th-thank you," Shikamaru said softly as he gently took the basket from her and held it awkwardly, he stared down at the basket in confusion before he looked down at his snoring friend.

"Ino-chan eaten," the girl said softly, "she sleeping now." Shikamaru blinked at the girl for a moment before he understood what she meant. With a sigh, Shikamaru nodded and gently shook Chōji's leg until the copper haired boy woke up. The girl continued watching the boys eat sleepily, seemingly comfortable with the cool mist surrounding them. Or perhaps they weren't as cold as she thought because the foxes were surrounding them? Either way the boys continued eating without really looking at what they were eating, which was fine because she picked them herself, so she knew everything in it was okay to eat.

…

* * *

…

" _the hope of our clan now rests on your shoulders."_

" _May destiny shine in your favor," the others murmured, far into the corner Mebuki spotted the last children of her clan, each of them were as young as a few months old and some as old as fourteen._

" _I pray that Destiny will be kind to us," Mebuki whispered, watching her power grow with the strength of the seal, beginning to shine throughout the entire room to reach every nook and cranny. "May she guild us, protect us, and let us survive this strife."_

…

 _That's it,_ Shikaku thought in realization, the key was in the memory. The last memory was of this very room, the deepest part to this maze of an underground cavern. The memory showed children of the clan in this very room, there were survivors of the Kiyobi attack, not many, but there were enough to keep the clan going. Not only that, but the Hattori clan didn't believe in putting all of their eggs in one basket, much less counting their chicks before they hatched. They were all about protecting the next generation; they did everything they could to protect it. That means there had to be a secondary safety room for the children to go to once this one became contaminated.

 _Now it makes sense,_ Shikaku thought as he rose to his feet and started to study the glowing inscriptions closely, searching for that one out of character insignia. He remembered the little bits and pieces of information Mebuki had given to him as they grew up, talking about the symbols of her clan as if they were common knowledge, yet she only did it with him because she knew he had a photographic memory, the same as her own.

"The mark of life, the mark of death, the mark of destiny," Shikaku whispered as he backed away from the wall, he caught sight of the mark he was searching for and it wasn't hard to find the three matching marks of its partners. Now he had to figure out how to tap all three of them at the same time, difficult but not impossible. Taking in a deep breath, Shikaku kneeled on the ground and without a single hand sign, let his elongated shadow lift off the ground and hover in front of the three symbols hesitantly.

 _Kami-sama let this work_ , with a gulp Shikaku thrust his shadows into the marks and watched in fascination as they each activated, nearly blinding him as they enlarged and swirled together.

" _You've done well friend,_ " the voice of his friend whispered behind him and he could feel her arms wrap around him from behind as she did when she greeted him for the day when they were still kids. " _I knew I chose the right one to save us_ _,_ _thank you Shikaku… Thank you._ " Not even Shikaku could remain strong as he felt his friend's presence leave him once more, letting her ghostly warm hands fade from his senses as her voice echoed hauntingly in his mind. With a sob, Shikaku bowed his head as tears rolled down his cheeks; Mebuki had been his best friend, almost like his sister, as they grew up in the war. It was true that he was friends with his childhood teammate's and that friendship had rolled over onto their children, but his genin cell were never as close to him as Mebuki had been. If not for Yoshino popping up in his life and hassling him for his attention, Shikaku was sure that he would've chosen Mebuki to settle down with. She wasn't his first love but she was his best friend and he knew that no one else knew him as clearly as she did. She was there whenever he was at his breaking point, she was always appearing out of nowhere and placing a fond hand on his head as she had just done. She was there when one attach took out his father and grandfather, she was there on his first chunin assigned mission that failed horribly, and she was there when his mother passed.

"Mebuki-chan," Shikaku hick-upped, unable to remain as indifferent and calm as he had been all these years. After hearing of the possibility of her death, he refused to belief for a moment that she passed away, and he stubbornly clung to that hope for nearly nine years. Now he knew for a fact that his best friend was gone and he could no longer hold onto that hope of her possible survival, there were no more excuses he could use. Her bloodline was not enough to save her; even so, she had made sure that her memories were enough to save the others; her precious children, her future, the next generation.

Slowly Shikaku raised his head and stared into the seemingly pitch black room that opened up to him, the entrance looking like the elegant circle of the Haruno crest. A reminder of Mebuki's last effort to save her people, her hope, her courage, her faith.

She had left it all to him

She trusted him with _everything_

 _I won't let you down... Mebuki-chan_

…

* * *

…

 _Damn,_ he cough wetly, blood spilled past his lips, filling the cavity of the mask and threatening to suffocate him. He had been careless, he never noticed the nick she made in his mask and then she went and filled the room with an invisible toxin called Carbon Dioxide. After his body started to show signs of slowing down because of the toxin, she sped up the release of her poisoned weapons.

In other words, he got his butt kicked by a machine

He heard foot steps and rolled his head up so he could look at the one approaching. A smile slipped onto his face as relief filled him, the small far figure stopped just before him. He coughed and lifted one weak hand to tug at his mask, his friend collapsed to his knees, hands encasing his own.

"P...pu..pu-leas~se," he wheezed weekly, his friend shook his masked head and moved to pull him over his shoulder. "N~no~" he gasped, his head rolling to rest against the boy's shoulder, "to...l~late..." His world was beginning to fade, darkness was creeping up on him. He felt his friend reach up slowly and with trembling fingers unhooked the straps securing the mask in place, with a hick up and gasp, his friend removed the mask. He smiled at the warmth slipping past the gap in the ceiling over head, falling down atop them like a warm caress. He turned his blurry sight back into his comrade and smiled in gratitude, he took in one last breath and let the poison steal the last of his breath.

The young boy held his friend's body for a moment before he carefully leaned him back against the wall and just as carefully situated himself beside his brother. After a moment of hesitance, he removed his mask and leaned against the body of his friend, silently letting himself die. There was no way he could return to their master, not with the knowledge that he had willingly given up the information they needed to infiltrate the underground bunker and take the child his master wanted. He would be killed if the man found out that he willingly gave up that information to save his 'brother' only to show up too late.

He was going yo die either way, so why not die with his brother?

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **Please no cursing!**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	6. Chapter 6

**First Impressions**

Chapter 6: To survive

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

…

It was dark, unbelievably dark, she was scared and hurt, the air was heavy and thick like someone was trying to suffocate them with heat. She didn't know what to do, all she could remember was that one moment she was dancing with Mebuki-hime and the next her father was holding her and they were flying through the air, then she was huddled up with a few others in a corner in a room that was blindingly bright. It seemed like she was holding little Aimi for hours before Mebuki-hime appeared to them once more, her body glowing like star light, tears streaming down her cheeks like liquid diamonds. Her clan heir-turned-clan-head didn't even look at them when she stepped into the great demon seal, she screamed when it was activated but it seemed nothing compared to the deafening silence of the eight great elders who's bodies slowly and painfully turned to ash as they sustained and maintained the evil seal. Her own father sat with his back to them, refusing to look as he concentrated on controlling the seal, refusing to even reveal that he was feeling a fraction of the unbearable pain that was undoubtedly coursing through him. She was scared, just as scared as the nine other children forced into the corner of the great room with her, their elders having taken them before their own parents. She didn't know why they were the chosen ones to be sentenced to the safety room hidden behind the great demon seal room but she did know that they were the nine chosen saviors of the clan. When the great demon seal was activated, so was the emergency life preservation seal, it took the ten closest and youngest members of the clan and thrust them into a room that would protect them until the danger was over. Unfortunately no one knew when that was going to be, the emergency seal and the computer were two different systems that worked independent of each other. If the computer deemed it safe enough for them to leave and the seal didn't then they'd never be able to leave the room, only when the seal deemed it safe could they leave.

She had watched her father turn into ashes right before her eyes, his very soul was sacrificed to control the great demon seal. She thought that she'd never feel a fear as great as the time her own life was nearly ended on her first C-ranked mission, she thought that she'd never feel so exhausted and wiry as she did when she lost her first patient. But she was wrong because nothing could prepare a person for the terror they feel watching their parent disappear right in front of them and not being able to stop it, nothing could prepare someone when they watch the entirety of their family disappear like dust in the wind. Even so, she was the eldest in the remaining survivors of the attack, all she could do now was pray to survive so that she can protect the next generation. Even so, she still visited this long dark hall that led back to the great demon seal room, the room that held the ashes of her father and clan elders. She doubted she would ever be able to go beyond that point, it was the beginning of the world she and the children had created, it was all they had left of the world they left behind. It was about four hundred meters, just shy of a quarter of a mile, and as dark as the night their home was destroyed by a roaring demon. She turned away from the smooth black wall, tears welling in her eyes, her heart clenching at the memory from a time so long ago she felt it was just yesterday.

…

…

Yoshino hummed as she moved around the stove, making her husband's and son's favorite for breakfast, Shikamaru was still upstairs in bed and Shikaku was still at work. As much as she loved her husband and everything that he does for the village, she positively loathed his horrendous work hours. He had next to no time to be at home and some occasions she wanted to walk straight to his office dressed in her—

 _Ting—ding!_

Yoshino flinched at the sharp ringing of her home's door bell, blinking a little in bewilderment she hurried to the door and opened it to the Hokage's aid. The young man blinked back at her in surprise, obviously not having expected her.

"He-hello ma'am," the aid stuttered out, "is Shikaku-san here?"

"No, he's still at work," Yoshino frowned at him, "why?"

"Oh, lord Hokage asked me to get his report," the Aid answered

"Report? Shikaku is the head of the Jonin's and he distributes most of the missions to all shinobi, he doesn't do missions anymore," Yoshino frowned at him, her brown eyes narrowing in thought

"Oh… uh~… sorry?" the man squeaked out, they were silent for a few moments before he started to back away, which lead into a dead spring away from her home. Inwardly Yoshino was very glade that her reputation at the tower was still holding strong; outwardly she was fretting at her husband's disappearance. Closing the door quietly, she returned to her stove and quickly finished cooking and setting the table, after which she sat down at the table and stared blankly at her plate. For a moment she didn't notice how quiet it was and then she realized that her husband wasn't the only one missing from the table, her son was too.

"Shikamaru!" Yoshino snapped out, her voice echoing through her home, "Get down here! Its breakfast time!"

…

" _Alright, alright, I'm here, quite nagging," her son grumbled as he sleep-walked down the stairs_

…

Silence echoed in her home, her son was not on the stairs walking down to her sleepily, mumbling rudely under his breath just to annoy her. Frowning Yoshino stood up and walked up the stairs, each step echoed in the silence and put a pound of led in her stomach. She reached the top of the stairs and stopped, staring blankly at the wooden floor, silence still echoed in her home. She turned down the hallway, purposefully slamming her feet into the floor as a warning to her light sleeping son; he should've been up by now, it's not like him to sleep in.

"Shikamaru!" Yoshino barked, slamming her son's door wide open. Her heart stopped at the sight of the open window and the icy coldness of the wind that blew straight though her bones.

Her husband wasn't at work and her son wasn't in bed… did something happen to her boys?

…

…

She watched as the two boys and her friend all slept together, surrounded by foxes and their kits, a strange thing considering the creatures in question hate all humans for some strange reason. Well, every human but _her_ and some weird boy they speak of in the village. She even found it amusing that the kits took to the three other children so quickly; they must be close to nature themselves if creatures so pure and innocent are willing to put their safety in jeopardy by sleeping with them. She hummed as she looked up at the sky, silently noting how the clouds high overhead looked similar to her hair, before turning towards the 'queen' of the foxes laying beside her. The female fox lifted her head from her large paws and stared back at her with pure golden eyes, sharp and intense like the long silver blades the Shadow Animals often use against her. She smiled politely and dipped her head; the fox blinked slowly in sleepy greeting before shifting to put her weight on her paws, her continued laying position was a silent command for her to sit upon the fox's back. Smiling to herself, because the great female fox rarely let her ride her, she hurried to do as she was told and nearly giggled when the fox rose to her full height.

" _Stay still little one,_ " the fox commanded in her soft whispery voice, " _we must be swift to make it back in time._ "

" _Must I return so soon?_ " she asked, tucking herself in close to the fox's head, laying against the great creature's back with a half-hidden smile

" _Hime is calling for you,_ " the fox replied soothingly, taking off through the light mist of the forest, disappearing in it like a ghost. She sighed and her smile slipped off her face, she should've known that she wouldn't be able to remain outside for long, the shadow animals were properly getting tiered of following the false leads the foxes had set up to distract them. She doubted she'd ever get used to the foxes acting so perfectly like her, right on down to the mowing and whining, even the shade of her perfectly pastel pink hair. Taking in a deep breath of the misty air, she snuggled in close to the fox and lost herself in the heavy beating of the fox's paws thumping rhythmically against the mushy ground. Suddenly the fox let out a low growl, her golden eyes narrowing into perfectly thin slits, and the girl on her back instantly tightened her hold. Feeling the wind shift, the fox ducked, rolled and sprinted up a tree before slashing open one shadowed man's chest and sinking her jaws around another's throat. Neither had the time to scream before they were on the ground, bleeding and working on a fast track to the next world.

" _Almost there little one,_ " the fox said reassuringly, the girl nodded against her neck, refusing to look up for fear of seeing the crimson liquid now staining the trees and ruining the pure wet scent of the fresh morning air.

…

…

"Mebuki-chan," Shikaku hick-upped, unable to remain as indifferent and calm as he had been all these years. After hearing of the possibility of her death, he refused to belief for a moment that she passed away, and he stubbornly clung to that hope for nearly nine years. Now he knew for a fact that his best friend was gone and he could no longer hold onto that hope of her possible survival, there were no more excuses he could use. Her bloodline was not enough to save her; even so, she had made sure that her memories were enough to save the others. Her precious children, her future, the next generation. Slowly Shikaku raised his head and stared into the seemingly pitch black room that opened up to him, the entrance looking like the elegant circle of the Haruno crest. A reminder of Mebuki's last effort to save her people, her hope, her courage, her faith.

 _I won't let you down, Mebuki-chan_ , Shikaku thought as he rose to his feet and slowly, mournfully, walked towards the gapping black whole of a painful memory. Just as he entered the dark hall, looking so much like the gaping mouth of a monster with a thousand teeth, he saw a glimmer of something just feet away from the edge of the light dancing across the dark stone floor. Sniffing Shikaku looked up, blinking tears out of his eyes as he saw the back of a young girl with long elegant black hair pulled into a high ponytail and dressed in a familiar swirling dancing quipao specialized to the Hattori festivals. A long crimson ribbon was tied around her waist and fluttered to her knees with tinkering little silver bells, the bells were carved with the familiar triple tomoe of the Hattori symbol. Afraid to hope, Shikaku whipped at his eyes quickly and studied the back of the young girl closely, her long teal sleeve shifted, revealing the familiar black clan mark, only to be followed again with another mark on her back as the girl turned to face him, her long black hair shifting and revealing another large clan mark on her back. He gasped, fresh tears threatening his vision as he reached out to the pale skinned girl, large emerald eyes stared almost fearfully back at him, face pale and ashen as if she were staring at the haunting image of a ghost.

"Ho-Hott-ttori-san," Shikaku stuttered, sniffing and taking in quick sharp breaths before speaking again, "My name is Shikaku, I'm a friend of Mebuki-chan—" at the mention of his once friend, the girl gasped and took off down the hall, her terror more than clear as she ran away. "Ah wait!" Shikaku shouted as he took off after her, rushing blindly into the darkness of the hall, unafraid of its pure blankness, "The attack is over! You're safe!" Shikaku shouted, his voice echoing through the seemingly endless hall, "Ms. Please! You're safe now!" Shikaku shouted, he watched as the girl glanced back at him before jumping and disappearing into a bright _familiar_ luminescent teal-green light. He leaned back and skidded against the cold slick rock, barely managing to stop in time to avoid falling off the edge of the cliff face. Well, what he assumed to be a cliff face. It was actually a fifty foot drop with several large rocks a shinobi could use to jump from one high to another and make their way to the ledge he now stood at. Each rock and stone wall was covered in a beautiful glowing luminescent teal glowing moss. Far below stood the young woman, standing with her hands folded before her as if she was waiting patiently for him to arrive. Frowning a little, Shikaku jumped from each rock down until he reached the bottom. Shikaku turned towards the young woman only to see a large maroon red rubber thing. Blinking he pulled back from the strangely shaped thing and stood, staring down at the maroon petal in curiosity. It was a ten petal, three foot tall plant with bright glowing teal veins and what looked like a yellow center, the three bottom petals seemed to be at least two feet long and a foot wide, each layer growing steadily smaller and smaller as it reached upwards. Looking around himself a little closer, he found that there were several glowing plants in the cavern, not just the glowing moss, each plant seemed as unique as the next and all of them were glowing. Some in teal, some blue, some yellow, some green but they all glowed like fireflies—speaking of which he just saw a few glowing specks of dust floating around to his left like a swarm of fireflies flying like a pack of tiny birds. Even the celling of the cavern looked like the night sky, thousands of pale sky blue insects covered the celling like a thick blanket.

"Where are we?" Shikaku asked as his curiosity finally got the best of him, he looked up at towards the young woman but she wasn't waiting for him anymore, she was walking away, leading him further down the cavern they now stood in, not answering his question. Shikaku followed her, passing at least four great eight-tun boulders before deciding to ask another question however he was interrupted as something hard and crisp snapped under his foot; looking down he found himself staring at the cracked bone dumbly. When he followed the oddly shaped bone up towards his right, his resulting gasp drew the young woman's attention and she turned back, staring at him dully before looking down at his feet. Shikaku backed away, his brown eyes widening as he carefully looked around himself, however there was only the one skeleton; shrouded in strips of teal silk and a ruined crimson ribbon.

"No," the young woman whispered, her green eyes widening, "its… not…" she turned away from the pile of bones, her eyes wide and searching as she looked around hurriedly, almost in a panic. "No, no, no, no, no!" She hurried further down the caravan, through the teal light and shadows of the misshapen rocks that filled the caravan. Shikaku rounded around the pile of bones and hurried after the sixteen year old, worry filling him as he chased her, wondering just where she was going. Barely thirty feet away from the pile of bones was some more bones, each as different as the next, looking like several people all curled up together and turned to dust in their sleep.

"…dead? We—me—I... dead?" the young woman whispered, tears flooding her eyes, "but… no, no that can't be right." Shikaku slid to a stop just behind the teen, his eyes widening at the pile of bones before her and realization creeping up on him like the fog in the middle of the night. Taking in a deep slow breath Shikaku slowly walked forward and placed a slow, hesitant palm on the girl's shoulder, more than a little surprised that he could touch her. She flinched under his touch, turning teary, heartbroken emerald eyes towards him.

"You're a spirit," Shikaku said softly, regret echoing in his eyes like muddy pools, "I came to late…" she sniffed, sobbed and collapsed to her knees, Shikaku soon joining her as he held her. Slowly, the glowing specks of dust surrounded them, forming eight small forms before scattering towards the ground like sand giving way to the wind. In each glowing form's place stood eight other children, each one with the Hattori green eyes and unique clan symbol somewhere on their pretty festival clothes.

"Onee-chan," the youngest whispered, her eyes tearing up, "don't cry."

"You did your best," the oldest boy said, whisper soft, one hand stationed on another young boy's shoulder, "You created one hell of a world for us to survive in and it did work." Shikaku guessed that it worked up until she died, which meant that she was the one sustaining the entire cavern, she must've been doing something that gave them fresh air and food for a while.

"N-No it didn't!" the girl sobbed, "if it did, you wouldn't be dead!"

"A Hattori will do whatever it takes to survive," Shikaku whispered to her, nearly silencing her crying as she listened to his words. "They will protect any and all children, they will adapt and overcome because they will always survive. And your efforts have only proven that, your clan has survived. Your precious survivor is outside right now, learning and living like all children do. You don't have to worry anymore, you don't have to fight anymore. You job is complete. I can take it on from here, I can and will protect her. Your clan has _survived._ "

If anything, the teen cried even louder and shriller then before

…

…

She took in a deep breath, feeling the thick poisonous gas fill her lungs with what felt like acid before cooling into ice and becoming nutrients for her small body. She never thought it was strange, when she was hungry she pulled what she needed from the air or earth and let it fill her till she was no longer hungry. After meeting Ino, she was curious about what 'food' really was and had asked Mamorigami about it. The strange blonde woman sighed and gave her an entire day's worth of information about food and all of its strange categories, including all the different 'tables' of food and where each kind of meat came from (she honestly couldn't imagine eating dear, cow or pig, did they just walk up to any animal and take a bite out of it? Gross!) and what animals were not okay to eat (like the poisons snakes or endangered species). That quickly led into a lesson about plants, which were poisonous and which were safe to eat, which were herbs or spices and which were decorations. She asked why she never bothered to eat such foods before and Mamorigami had told her about the 'bloodline limit' she inherited, the will to survive no matter what faced her. When she was seven months old, the 'kiyobi' attacked her 'village' and whipped out her 'clan' leaving her as the only known survivor. She survived because her body deduced that in order for her to survive she would need to manipulate the malevolent chakra (bad energy) surrounding her and turned it into munificent Chakra (good energy), which she can then absorb into her body, treating chakra like one would treat food. That was why she never had need of food before; she got all of her necessary vitamins and nutrients from the natural chakra surrounding her. It was that same day that she learned she was very different from her friend Ino, who needed to eat such things as nuts and berries to survive.

" _Tighten your hold little one_ ," the fox whispered as she once more bounded through the misty trees quickly. The girl on her back nodded against her neck, afraid to look at the blood staining the beautiful fox. The girl closed her eyes, listening to the heavy thumping of the fox's large paws racing against the mushy ground of the earth. Either they weren't far from the ruins or she fell asleep to the rhythmic running of the fox, which ever it was, it didn't matter. She was suddenly tossed from her rushing companion, thrown through the air and was flying over the wrecked wall of the once-compound.

" _Hurry little one!_ " The great fox barked, " _run and hide! We'll protect you!_ " she glanced back at her friend and turned away quickly. It would seem that the Shadow Animals found her, the female fox would now be forced to summon her pack to protect the compound, with luck those with her friends would remain unharmed. She flipped in the air, sending her feet first into the ground, rolled and wasted no time rising into a sprint, evading every hidden trap and weapon thrown her way. Though she did set off a few Hattori traps so her followers were blindsided and left behind to rot in the thick demonic miasma. Jumping into a wide crack in the earth, she slipped through grasping fingers and landed in a clear spot inside the training tunnel she had taken Shikaku through. Sensing something off in the energy around her, she twisted and hissed like the foxes showed her. Instead of being surrounded by the Shadow Animals, she found two dead boys leaning against the shattered wall of the tunnel. Having never seen a perfectly preserved corpse before, she crawled forward slowly and sniffed the air surrounding the two boys carefully. Deeming them safe enough, she reached out tentatively to the one that was small like her, yet looked like the stars in the inky black sky. Her fingers stopped just inches away from the boy's skin (Mamorigami-hime taught her about the differences between boys and girls and how to tell them apart), just hovering in the air like this, she could feel the heat coming off him.

He was very much alive

…

…

Hiruzen frowned at his aid, Shikaku wasn't the type to go an entire day without reassuring him that he was still living. He had been expecting him to send a note that he was still in the forest trying to find the girl but nothing was on his desk and he had no secret messages, or any kind of messages for that matter. It was reaching noon, if he didn't send a message by then, then Hiruzen would have to send someone after Shikaku; hopefully without alarming his family.

"Lord Hokage!" Hiruzen flinched at the shrill voice and the slamming of his door against his once undented wall. In the doorway, three bodies crashed through with only one standing patiently to the side.

"Ah, chil—"

"Lord Hokage, our children are missing!" A young Yamanka interrupted, his blue eyes wide and frantic, this young man was named Inoko, he was the guard for a certain young rambunctious little heir. Inoko quickly stood and dusted himself off as Chokoa hurried to Hiruzen's desk, tears streaming out if her eyes.

"Even sweet Choji is missing!" Chokoa all but shouted at him, "and Shikamaru-kun too!" Hiruzen blinked and turned to look around the woman to see the too calm brunet being ushered into the room by Inoko, who was treating her like glass. It had been a long time since Hiruzen last saw Yoshino looking like a living corpse, the funeral of her teammates to be precise.

"Hikai-kun, go get me Inoichi-kun, Kakashi-kun and Mikoto-Chan," he turned sharp onyx eyes onto the young man, " _now_."

"Y-yes sir!" The young man stuttered, stumbled and hurried out of his office

"Don't worry child," Hiruzen said soothingly, standing and hurrying over to Yoshino, taking her small hands into his own. "We'll get them back, unharmed and perfectly safe."

"Uncle..." Yoshino whispered and like a dam broke, she collapsed into his arms sobbing loudly

…

…

Thumping the ash covered ground beside the crack where the girl escaped, he quickly rose and made eye contact with his teammates. They each scattered to the very edges of what they knew to be the path of the tunnel and thrust their Tanto blades into the earth, charging the metal with their chakra. The gap in the earth grumbled at first before shattering, the team scattered away not wanting to fall into a death trap. They watched in a mixture of fascination and confusion as the tunnel was revealed to the morning light, setting off traps they never knew existed before filling with the poisonous miasma the demon fox left behind.

" _Stay close to the edges, find her!_ " the order was sharp and clear, the voice filled with annoyance and impatience; all of them were done playing this 'cat and mouse' game with the girl. Other teams soon joined them, studying the wreckage carefully, searching for foot prints and blood splatters or anything that might seem abnormal in this destroyed tunnel.

" _Captain, I found a body,_ " that got everyone's attention; they each hurried to the only still member of the team, converging on him like a swarm of locus. " _It's one of our own_ …" as much as he wanted to slap the younger man for his incompetence, he soon understood why he spoke of the body that wasn't the young girl's they've been chasing for so long. The body just a dozen or so feet blow them, perfectly unharmed by the rubble surrounding him, was one of their own, a promising young boy who once rose through their ranks almost as quickly as the Uchiha heir. He was also untouched by the miasma, appearing to have just sat down and taken a nap against the stone wall of the tunnel. Sighing the captain quickly grabbed a fan from his back pouch, jumped down before the dead boy and used a burst of wind to push the miasma back. Another member of his team jumped down behind him, grabbed the boy and jumped back up to the top of the once-tunnel; the captain was quick to follow. At the top they carefully placed his body into a scroll, deciding that the autopsy should be saved for later, and rose to their full heights just as another team landed beside them.

" _We found the leader of cell two,_ " the captain said through the mike, making sure everyone could hear, " _it's assumed the others are lost to the miasma._ "

…

…

They split up at the Hokage tower, each of them taking a dog summoning with them to each child's home and followed the dogs back out, following the children's scent. It seemed that the young Yamanaka was the first to be taken, however there were no other detectable scents around her home so they could only assume that she was manipulated or left her own. The same could be said for the young Akimichi and again with the young Nara, they both seemed to have left their homes on their own but only after the young Yamanaka managed to get their attention. For all they knew someone took possession of the blonde and used her to draw out the two boys before taking off in another direction. The three dogs seemed to think that the children had planned it on their own or someone was able to cover up their own scent but not the kid's. For now though, the team soared through the trees in the forms of dark blurs, trusting their leader's summons to find the three missing children. If the three young heirs were abducted from their homes, then it had to have been performed only by the stealthiest of shinobi. Meaning that the culprits were Anbu level, trained and specialized for taking bloodline carrying children, which meant that they were either taken out of the village for another hidden village (of course breaking half a dozen treaties in the process) or they were taken from someone within the borders of the village. With their current location in the eastern forest, the forbidden forest to be exact, the later opinion was weighing heavier and heavier in their minds.

"Inoichi," the kunochi in their group called softly, freezing upside down on a branch, crimson eyes gleaming eerily in the dim light of the forest. Far below the morning mist had yet to fade with the rise of the now noon sun, even in this dim forest light, the mist took on an unnatural fiery-hue. The animals here seemed scares at first, until one stopped to take a closer look in the shadows and crevasses, then they could see something unnatural staring back. Even she, a young chunin, had seen several creatures that looked like wolfs but had the coloring of foxes and all of them had unnatural fire colored eyes all gold honey.

"What is it?" Inoichi asked, he had to double back because of her sudden stop but did land above her and crouched low over the branch so he could see what she saw. However he found himself staring at glowing orange mist, rich green bushes and hundreds of saplings twisting together like claws reaching for the sky.

"Do you see that?" Mikoto questioned whisper soft, "the tracks there disappear in the middle of that tree formation. That's not natural."

"Nothing in this forest is natural," Inoichi replied, leaning further down till he threatened to fall off the branch, trying to study the ground so far below them. He did see a slight distortion in the grass below them but that could be from the wind or from animals, it wasn't necessarily a sign of the children.

"Hold up you two," Kakashi ordered, landing on the very edge of the branch, letting it dip with his weight and lower almost to its breaking point down towards the ground. He tilted his nose to the side, taking in quick sharp breaths before turning towards the wind and repeating the processes, the pug stationing himself on his back doing the same.

"They're here," the pug drawled, stepping forward with chakra laden paws, walking forward until he was nearly dangling from Kakashi's head. "They're close…" he sniffed some more, tilting his face every which way before growling lowly and slowly backing away from the edge.

"Pakkun?" Kakashi questioned, crawling backwards on the branch till Inoichi had to jump up a branch to avoid being pushed off. "What is it?" Kakashi asked, Pakkun jerked his head from left to right, crouching low against Kakashi's back as if he was ready to leap off any momment, "What is it boy?"

"Demons," Pakkun answered lowly, his voice little more than the endless growl echoing out of his chest

…

…

"Are you sure we need all three of them? Master doesn't usually take girls," he asked, beginning to feel slightly annoyed. His commander told him to do one last round in the area before returning to camp, preferably with dinner, he rolled his eyes skyward. "Understood," he clicked off the mike and turned, froze, dark eyes widening as he reflexively crouched against the ground, nearly merging in the shadow of the large oak beside him.

"Ino?" The young boy turned to look around the slight patch of clear ground, his perfectly round cheeks were red from sunlight and dark lines rounded beneath his warm brown eyes, indicating his lack of sleep. "Ino? Shikamaru? Where are you?" He lunged forward, not giving the boy a moment before he knocked him out and disappeared into the dim light of the forest.

"Captain, I've found the Akimichi," he couldn't help but smirk, "the other two are up to you."

…

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

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 **Page 11**


	7. Chapter 7

**First Impressions**

Chapter 6: The Shadows attack

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth or died leaving young children behind, this Yūrei (Demon) returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

Ino tucked her feet closer to herself, teal green eyes locked on the shadow resting just inches shy of the old fox's tail. She didn't need to be told to be silent to know that the owner of the shadow was not her ally; a single glance at his shaped unpainted mask was all she needed to know that he was her enemy. Sakura had told her of the 'Shadow Animals' and how they were always hurting the foxes and trying to take her away from the compound. Just the knowledge of them hurting the friendly creatures was enough to make Ino dislike them but to hear that they were trying to take her friend away was the last straw. Ino had wanted to tell her dad, so he could set up a trap and protect her but Ubume said that he would not be able to catch the shadows. She knew that the ghostly woman's name wasn't actually 'Ubume' but that was what Ino was going to call her and the woman seemed to be okay with it, she never corrected her. On that thought, Ino did find it amusing that while she called the woman an over protective demon, Sakura called her a guardian spirit.

"No I haven't found them," the Shadow's voice snapped Ino out of her thoughts and her amused smile fell straight off her face, her eyes widening as she paid rapid attention to the man crouching before her. "Are you sure we need all three of them? Master doesn't usually take girls," despite being more into fashion and boys then her school work, Ino was far from stupid, she could put two and two together. The Shadow animals were no longer after just Sakura; they were after the three of them, Shikamaru and Chōji, as well. Her father had warned her that people would someday try to take her away because of the bloodline she had, some people would even force her to have kids so they would become ninja of the village she had been taken by. That could be the reason here, that they were chasing Sakura because she held some sort of bloodline they were oblivious too and then when she chased after Sakura… with Shikamaru and Chōji, they saw a four for one deal…

It was all her fault, her friends were going to get hurt because of her, because she couldn't listen to Chōji and go back home, she just had to go chasing after Sakura in the middle of the night without telling anyone anything. If they were taken out of the village it would be next to impossible to track them down and returned home, they would be forced to continue their clans in an enemy village. There would be war, they would fight and they would properly die fighting against their home and family, this would happen because they would be brainwashed into believing that this new village is their home and that Konoha is their enemy. It was all her fault, they were going to be brainwashed into breading weapons and they were going to be killed because she _couldn't_ listen.

What kind of friend leads they're friends into a trap?

What kind heir is she if she can't even protect her bloodline?

What kind of kunochi would she be if she can't even fight for the village that is her home?

"Understood," the Shadow spoke again, forcing Ino to focus on him again, her fear spiking when she thought that the man could see them. Suddenly she thought that the Foxes barrier failed and that he was staring at her and assessing the best way to take all three of them at the same time and—

"Ino?" a familiar voice whispered, freezing her heart as she turned slowly to look behind her, she wasn't aware of Choji having left the safety of the fox circle. "Ino? Shikamaru? where are you?" Chōji was standing at the edge of the clearing, looking around as if he was confused; on his right shoulder was a tiny yellow baby fox, yawning and threatening to fall asleep. The sight was enough to make Ino panic, even more so when the Shadow turned at Chōji's voice and readied himself like a Cat waiting to pounce; fitting because his mask was in the shape of the patient lucky cat. The kit lifted his head, ears perked and head tilted to the side curiously; the Shadow tensed his muscles ready to pounce. The kit laid its ears back and growled lowly, the way only a kitten could growl and hiss, cute but alarming in this case. She felt the burst of chakra the Shadow used to charge forward, she moved to stop him, a scream on the tip of her tongue. Suddenly she was restrained, a hand over her mouth and arms and legs wrapped around her, holding her to the ground and preventing her from leaving the protective circle of the Foxes. She thrashed, kicking, elbowing, trying to scream, watching in terror as Chōji shouted, the Kit yowled, and suddenly they were gone. She kept struggling, tears rolling down her cheeks, her screams muffled by the tight hold of one hand; it seemed to be hours before she realized someone was whispering in her ear.

"It'll be okay," it whispered, choked with pain and fear, "We'll get him back, everything will be okay, it'll be okay." It kept repeating and repeating until she stopped struggling, breathing heavily; one hand wrapped around the wrist of the hand held tightly to her mouth. It was about that moment that she recognized that fearful tone of voice, the voice of her friend, her adopted older brother, Shikamaru. As she came to the realization that Shikamaru was the one who restrained her, she also realized that her shoulder was damp and the arms wrapped around her were trembling. She sniffed a few times, taking in a few shaky breaths before she tapped Shikamaru's hand and carefully pealed herself away from him, staring into his carefully too blank face, the panic and tears still swirled in his eyes.

"He'll be okay," Shikamaru repeated, as if that was all that was keeping him from bursting out into full panic, "We can get him back."

"How?" she asked, "There could be an army in this forest and we wouldn't know it. How are we supposed to get Chōji back if we don't even know where to look?"

"Maybe but we don't have too," Shikamaru answered, taking in slow steady breaths, trying to push back his panic and fear, trying to be reasonable. "The foxes and your friend know this forest inside and out," suddenly he blinked as if he just realized something and looked at Ino wide eyed, " _you_ know this forest just as good. Plus you're a sensor, you can find him, you can find Chōji." He sounded so desperate, so different from his usual lazy 'I don't care leave me alone' attitude that it actually scared her.

"No, no I can't," Ino started, panic rearing its ugly head, "I can't find him Shikamaru, I've never tried without Sakura or dad, how can you think I can sense when I've never—"

"You can Ino," Shikamaru said clasping her shoulders and shook her gently, "You were sensing when you were following Sakura the other day. You were sensing when you came looking for us, you were sensing when you left to find Sakura." Ino's eyes widened because she never once thought that was considered sensing, following a path with someone in mind wasn't what she called sensing. She thought sensing was following people's chakra, like the burst of chakra she felt from the Shadow man when he lunged at Chōji. "It's in you Ino, you can do it, you've been doing it this whole time. You can do it again!"

…

* * *

…

Sakura lost concentration and accidentally let the boy drop harshly on his back. She turned slightly, looking over her shoulder at the training hall half filled with sunlight and dancing shadows, the shifting orange mist of the miasma was like a wall of foggy glass. The orange mist wouldn't approach her so soon, not when it'll get purified and manipulated by her, so it'll leave her alone for now. She turned away from the training hall and took in a deep breath, she reached forward with her senses and searched for the warmth of the tunnel, purifying it and then using it to do what she could not. The boy's heavier clothes threatened to melt off him like ink in water, a sign that the miasma wasn't pure enough to move him. Closing her eyes and taking in deep steady breaths, she concentrated on purifying the miasma. When his hair lifted slightly, she knew the miasma was pure enough to use on him without worry about poisoning him accidentally. When the boy was lifted off the ground again, she continued around the corner, the purified mist surrounding the boy carrying him ahead of her.

" _Kodomo,_ " she didn't look as the woman she's known all her life appeared beside her, walking silently, " _What are you doing?_ " she hummed and smiled, pressing all five fingers against her heart before tapping two fingers to her temple and pointed at the boy. " _He has passed the test?_ " Mamorigami asked, one perfectly curved yellow brow arched diligently, she nodded in agreement.

" _Fine, follow me_ ," Mamorigami ordered, not stopping as they turned down another hallway, Mamorigami leading the way, Sakura not questioning the older woman. They disappeared into the dark hall rimmed in pale ghostly blue lights, the optical cords of light were the 'eyes' if the computer known as 'Mamorigami'. Sakura didn't know why the computer was named that but she also didn't care either. At the very far end of the hall, where it seemed that darkness could go on forever, Mamorigami stopped and waved her hand in front of an empty space. Like magic to little Sakura, a large section of black stone shuttered back and to the side, letting out a cloud of dust and a blinding white light that forced Sakura to shield her eyes.

" _Welcome child,_ " Mamorigami smiled patiently down at her, " _to the garden of adaptation, a piece of our homeland_."

"Whoa" Sakura breathed

…

* * *

…

He stared out at the floating, rotating orb of orange and yellow light, the chakra of the great demon being purified and returned to the earth from where it once came. He knew that in the very center was the curled up form of his best friend, the woman having sacrificed everything to save her village, there would be no way to get her out without releasing the remaining Miasma on the village. There was also no way of knowing if the woman inside was still alive or if it was only her body that remained untouched by time, was it even possible for her to still be alive? It was a terrifying thought, a hope he couldn't bear to see crushed; even if she was alive there would be no way to save her. The village elders wouldn't allow them to create a seal to do what Mebuki is doing, they wouldn't even consider saving her; to them she was just a corps preserved in a demon's chakra. They would never allow her to leave, especially if there was no promise of her survival or if it put the village in danger, they would rather have her rout underground for the rest of eternity.

"Hay mister," he looked down at the small child, the surprising warmth of her tiny hand settling around his wrist, "Is that Mebuki-hime?"

"Yes, that's Mebuki-chan," Shikaku agreed with a fond smile, "you're properly too little to remember her so don't fret too much, okay?"

"Don't worry I won't," the girl smiled up at him, "I'm more worried about how you're going to get her out."

"What do you mean?" a thump of fear and hope twisted his stomach into knots, he couldn't hope that she was alive only to find out that it was impossible to get her out of the orb.

"I mean she's still alive," the little girl answered, "Is there a way to get her out of the miasma?"

"Not without hurting the village," the teen behind them answered softly, "I'm sorry Aimi but you can't meet her before we move on."

"Okay," the girl, Aimi, sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping

"Come along children," Shikaku said softly, trying to ignore the lump in his throat and the ice in his belly, "I bet the sun is rising."

"It's been a long time since I last saw a sunrise," the teen whispered fondly, a memory from long ago surfacing in the for-front of her mind. Shikaku smiled to himself and walked the group of ten children to the far edge of the room and through the immense pure stone hall decorated with thousands of seals. At the far end of the hall, they all turned and started the long walk back up to the surface, little Aimi giggling at the new sights. For ghosts, it occurred to Shikaku that just him finding them should've relieved them enough to make them move on but it seemed that these ghosts were bound to him until they reached the surface... Maybe one or two of them slowly faded as they climbed the slope but Shikaku pretend they were still with him, so when he reached the top two hours later, he felt as if a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders. He stood at the very top of the slop, standing in the large door way big enough for two houses to pass through unharmed with room on either side to walk and a ceiling high enough for a dozen people to stand atop the roof of the house passing through. Before him was the view of the compound, a wonderful mixture of forest and houses evenly dispersed and beautifully shaped into the symbol of their village mark. One main road swirled through the forest to shape the swirling leaf and the point where he stood was the very bottom of the leaf, the part that hung to the tree. The Hattori clan were loyal to the village and no one could question that, the symbol of the leaf was carved into every pillar used and weaved into every dance they performed. Even some of the tomoe on their homes were replaced with three spinning leaves instead of the original Tomoe.

Suddenly he could see this place as he did once when he was still a child, following Mebuki to the top curiously. He remembered the way it looked back then, graceful and beautiful in every way to his childish mind. He remembered Mebuki pointing out different building tops and giving it a name, the daycare, the training grounds, the gardens, the little shops, the playgrounds, the exit into the main village and the dozen hidden entrances. Remembering her voice as it was back then, made him regret not trying to see her more often. Paper work and clan duties were poor excuses, he saw his teammates more often than her and he could not deny that for a time, he did forget about her.

Some best friend he was

" _Shikaku_ ," her voice whispered in his mind, full of amusement as it always seemed to be, " _thank you... For saving me I mean_." That's right, he forgot about that, he was the one who found and unburied her when those nin thought they could crush her to death with rocks. It took him an hour to unbury her and another twenty to pull her out of the thick wet earth sticking to her like slim. After that he just held her as she cried hysterically until their teammates returned to them. Mikoto and Kushina looking viciously victorious and Choza and Inoichi stood a healthy distance from the girls, they actually looked scared of them.

"Shi~ka~ku~," the voice was whisper soft and filled with uncertainty, he looked down and saw little Sakura standing a little further in the great tunnel. She appeared nervous in her dirty pink kimono frayed at the edges and looking too small for her to wear anymore. He sniffed and smiled down at her, crouching he waved her over with a sad looking smile. She walked over and took his hand, staring up at him through her too long pink bangs, curiosity shinning in her bright emerald eyes.

"A long time ago I made a promise to your mother," Shikaku said, a tear slipping past his guard, "and it's about time I renew that promise." Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion, watching silently as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I promise to always protect you,"

…

* * *

…

She trembled as she pulled Shikamaru up the ledge, the two giant foxes on look out. Ino tried not to feel scared with Shikamaru holding her hand so tightly, but she figured that he was trembling just as bad as she was. She whipped her nose on her sleeve and looked around the compound in perfect beautiful daylight. It was so different in sunlight as compared to its haunting darkness of a ghosts paradise. In daylight the mists of the miasma hid the bones of the dead, hovering two feet off the ground, hiding the destruction of the attack like an orange glowing blanket. From their place atop the same broken wall she walked on the previous night, it appeared as if the occupants of the compound just left and never came back.

"What happened here?" Shikamaru asked softly, stepping a little closer to Ino

"It's from October tenth eight years ago," Ino answered as she started moving forward, "from the kiyobi attack."

"Why doesn't the rest of the village look like this?" Shikamaru asked as he followed her, letting go of her hand so she could jump across a gap in the wall

"The Hattori clan was destroyed in the Kiyobi attack eight years ago," Ino explained, "according to Ubume; the Hattori sacrificed themselves to protect the village." Shikamaru stopped in his tracks, staring wide eyed at Ino's back, disbelief filling him. "Fifty people dead is better than a thousand, one clan's destruction is better than the entire village being destroyed. Can you imagine what it would be like if the entire village was reduced to this small twenty acer compound? How many people do you think it could sustain before disease broke out and killed more people? How many people do you think would've survived the kiyobi attack if the Hattori didn't pull the miasma towards their compound?" Shikamaru didn't answer; he was quiet as he thought about the answer. In a way, Ino was right. Fifty dead is better than a hundred, a clan destroyed is better than a nation; but he still couldn't imagine what it was like, having to face that threat and not be scared. Did the parents in the clan try to shield their children from the demon? Did the children cry for their parents? Did anyone try to save a Hattori before it was too late? Did anyone try to convince them that their lives were just as important as the village? Was their death quick and painless or slow and terrifying? If the Hattori didn't sacrifice themselves, would any other clan of the village still be living? Would his clan have survived the attack if the Hattori didn't pull the miasma into their compound just in time? Would his father or mother still be living? Would he still be alive without their sacrifice?

"Who would choose the village over their own family?" Shikamaru asked doubtfully, he hurried after Ino when he saw her jump to another ledge, this one slightly wider than the previous.

"The Hattori elders," Ino answered, "according to Ubume, the entire clan knew what would happen should someone unleash a demon on the village and prepared accordingly for it. Ever since that decision, each following generation was raised knowing that should a demon attack the village, then they would die as a result."

"I still don't understand," Shikamaru said softly, frowning at the back of his friend as he tried to keep up with Ino as she expertly weaved her way through the compound using only the walls, tree limbs and pieces of broken houses that she could reach. "Why would they sacrifice everyone? Wasn't there another way to protect the village? Did they all have to die?" Ino stopped in her tracks, they were standing on the second floor of a half destroyed house. In the corner Shikamaru could see a child's sized bed, a small desk and a dresser with small girly cloths strewn about the broken room, there was even a teddy bear hanging dangerously close to the edge of the broken floor, threatening to fall into the poisonous mist. Ino looked around them for a moment before she walked over to the edge and laid down, bending over the edge she fiddled around with the underside of the broken floor before pushing herself up and walking back towards him.

"In Sakura's words 'better us then them'," Ino thrust her hand forward, showing Shikamaru the long jade green ribbon she held. It seemed plane at first, but the longer he stated at it the more he saw the thicker lines of the hand-stitched leaves sown in the same jade green thread the ribbon was made in. It took him even longer to realize the leafs weren't strewn about randomly but where localized into groups of three, looking so much like the black tomoe spinning up and down the ribbon with them. The Hattori clan integrated the village symbol into their clan symbol, showing their allegiance to the village, and their sacrifice only spoke about their immense blind loyalty.

…

* * *

…

She slid to a stop atop a tree branch, her teammates skidded to stumbling stops just behind her, she ignored their grumbled complaints about her hair pin turns and random stops. Right now she was in the perfect place to get the view of the center of the compound, not far from her was the perfect view of a half destroyed house, two familiar looking children standing on the second floor. Not far from the house, walking on a broken in half wall, humming and smiling, arms out spread walking like a little tin soldier was a familiar, almost identical looking little girl to the one she once grew up with. The only thing missing was the pretty yellow hair and pristine white quipao dress, but other than that the girl on the wall and her old teammate could be twins. Just behind the girl, walking in the clear space of the ground, was Shikaku, walking as if nothing in the world was wrong. She gave a strangled shout and launched herself off the tree she was in, however she wasn't the only one and her old reflexes were the only thing that kept her from being riddled with kunai.

"Mikoto!" Inoichi shouted, dodging his own set of projectiles, "Where are they?!"

"Kakashi get to Sakura!" Mikoto screamed just a second before throwing out a fireball the size of a house towards the group of ninja who thought they could hide from her. Kakashi didn't question her as he dived forward, heading straight for Shikaku and the child, his hounds howled hauntingly through the air. Sakura snapped around at the sound, her green eyes widening as dozens of shadow animals charged her like waves of paranoias swarming on to a single pray. Ino shouted and jumped off the roof, Shikamaru went to follow her but one of the Shadow Animals lunged forward and took him away before he could. Sakura turned around just in time to see Ino become engulfed in the miasma and for Shikamaru struggle in the arms of a Shadow animal as they both disappeared into the shadows between the two houses. Shikaku jumped up beside Sakura and grabbed her just in time to dodge the net swung at her, reaching the end of the wall Shikaku jumped in, trusting Sakura to do what she does best. The miasma turned from menacing ominous orange to bright warm teal tinged green in a perfect five foot radius around them. Shikaku put Sakura over his shoulders and ran through the mist, creating teal mist in his wake that was quick to evaporate into pure air around them. Shikaku didn't have to go far before he found Ino, curled up because of her broken ankle, he was quick to pick her up and set her on his hip as he sprinted again away from the 'Shadow Animals' trying to take the two girls.

"To the willow," Sakura whispered in his ear, "hurry." Shikaku tightened his hold on Ino as Sakura scrambled down from his shoulders and huddled herself up on his other side, he didn't ask any questions as she kept watch over his back. He could only assume that she was using the miasma to cover their trail and purifying anything that got too close to them.

"Shika," Ino coughed, "Shikamaru… they took him." Ino wheezed breathlessly, her eyes clenched tight as she tried to breathe through the burning in her lungs, "Ch-Chōji too." Shikaku was busy dodging kunai and escaping explosions to really hear what the blonde was whimpering about, Sakura however appeared to be able to hear her just fine.

"Understood," it was the first time Shikaku heard Sakura's voice grow cold, sounding almost like ice. Sakura put both feet to his ribcage and used chakra to stand up and hold onto him tighter, just as he was about to ask what she was doing, Sakura let out a long, loud piercing howl too similar to that of a wolf's. Barely even a moment later, another howl sounded through the air, echoing even loud through the ruins, nearly vibrating in Shikaku's skull as he ran.

"Help," Sakura chimed with a smile, settling back around his waste

"From who?" Shikaku asked, just then there was growl and time seemed to freeze as Shikaku watched several great canine forms leap over them before time started he heard three men screams the canine's easily killed them. When he heard one turn and start to give chase, he quickly added chakra to his legs and made himself even faster, his heart skipped a beat when Sakura giggled and there was playful yip from the animal chasing him.

"Friend," Sakura giggled, "she will protect us."

Shikaku decided that he'll hold off on his questions until after they reach the willow tree

…

* * *

…

Inoichi smoothly hid himself in the shadow of the nearest house, letting Kakashi's summons surround him protectively as he concentrated on suppressing his chakra to that of his daughter's level. As predicted three signatures slid into the room of the house, the dogs took out two and immobilized the third, letting him take quick possession of the black dressed man. He took no liberty of sparing his sanity, he tore through the seals and traps like a hurricane on an island, destroying everything in the way of what he wanted. What he wanted was information, who he was, where he was from, who hired him, why he was hired, and the in the seven hells the man wanted his _daughter_. After tearing through the man's brain, shredding his personality into itsy bitsy pieces, he gathered up his necessary information and returned back to his own body, carrying a mental copy of the man's memories. Once he returned to T &I he would be able to take this mental memory and convert it onto a digital program, like a video and present it to Ibiki and Hiruzen. Right now Inoichi didn't know who wanted his daughter but he did know that by too night the person would be hanging by their innards.

No one touches his kid and gets away with it

"Inoichi-san, are you well?" He looked towards the pug and nodded courtly

"Take him to interrogation, no one but Ibiki is to see him." He ordered rising to his full height, "after that one of you stand guard and the other go inform lord Hokage of everything."

"Right, let's go boys," the dogs disappeared, leaving Inoichi alone with only the two youngest members of the pack.

"You two, can you search out my daughter?" Inoichi asked, staring down at the pup with the black eye.

"We know her scent, it shouldn't be hard to find her," the pup answered, tilting his head to the side

"Good, tell Kakashi to go after the boys, I've got the girl's," Inoichi left with only one of the pups following him. He cleared the way of any optical; the masked shinobi included, and followed the dog through the ruins of the once famous clan.

No matter the cost, he was getting his daughter back

…

* * *

…

Shikamaru didn't resist when the man tackled him and ran from the house he last saw his blond friend. He pretended to pass out from the sudden force of weight slamming into his body. He tried to keep track of every turn and the amount of jumping verses running the man did but when he felt the warmth of the sun get replaced by the cold of water, he began to panic. By the time he got himself calm enough to start counting again, the man slid to a stop and dumped him carelessly on the ground.

"Well, where's yours?" His voice was low but Shikamaru thought he heard a tone of pride in his kidnapper's voice

"Bear got caught by the Yamanaka," another male voice drawled unimpressed with the other, "we're to move out as soon as possible."

"Understood," his capture said, something sounding almost angry sounded in his voice, but it was so low Shikamaru couldn't be sure. The only Yamanaka he knew was there was Ino, but if their words were anything of a hint, then someone had to have gone looking for them. By 'someone' he meant their parents; they were going to be in so much trouble when this all ended.

"I'll head to master and find out where to take these two," his kidnapper said, lifting something that sounded heavy before reaching of to Shikamaru and pulling him over his shoulder.

"Be careful," the other ordered coldly, "the battalions have been sent out."

"All of them?" The kidnapper asked, a feint tone of alarm in his voice

"All of them," Shikamaru never knew someone could move so fast, his cracked open eyes were pressured shut by the wind that howled in his ears, the kidnapper was running for everything he was worth. He didn't if the 'battalion' he knew of was the same as the 'battalion' the kidnapper's friend spoke of but he had the feeling that it wasn't something to take lightly. Whatever it was, it made this man who braved the fox's forest feel fear deep into his bones. Shikamaru could only pray his family and friends could get out of the village before everything went up in smoke.

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

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 **Page 10**


	8. Chapter 8

**First Impressions**

Chapter 8: Attack on the village

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth or died leaving young children behind, this Yūrei (Demon) returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

Inoichi followed the pup through the ruins and into the forest, running past startled animals and remaining in the trees were it appeared to be safest. Not long after entering the forest, they hit a clearing and ran straight up a hill, stopping only when they slid behind the thick branches of the flowering willow tree. Beneath the branches was Ino and a little pink haired girl close to the trunk, Shikaku crouching nearby as if ready to attack but stopped when he saw it was him.

"Daddy?" Ino called put in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"You're grounded!" Inoichi barked, slamming onto his knees and wrapping his arms around his only child. "Don't scare me like that," Inoichi ordered, sniffing as tears gathered in his eyes, _you're all I have left of her..._

" _You must be Inoichi Yamanaka_ ," he pulled away from Ino to look up at the familiar sounding voice, his eyes widened at the sight of a transparent Mebuki. " _I am Mamorigami, a computer in charge of the Hattori compound and all surviving clansmen_."

"Sakura-Chan," Shikaku called out fondly, a soft smile on his face as the little girl peeked around the trunk of the willow tree. "This is Inoichi, my teammate," he gestured to said man and watched as the little girl crawled into view on her hands feet, crouched low like a frightened animal. "He is also Ino-chan's father," Shikaku added as Sakura huddled behind him, watching the blond man distrusting. Inoichi stared right back at her, surprise in his eyes and bewilderment on his face. At first he could only see Sakura's emerald green eyes and the distrust in them was reminding him of the first time he saw Mebuki, the girl who stood in his way of befriending his current teammate.

" _Kodomo, it is time to go_ ," Mamorigami said calmly, grabbing everyone's attention, " _It is best if you bring Ms Ino as well_ —"

"I just found her and you want to take her away again?" Inoichi interrupted with a scowl on his face, "I'm taking her home!"

" _I'm afraid that is not possible_ ," Mamorigami replied calmly, " _for the sake of her life, she must be taken to the bunker. If not the miasma will kill her and you will have no heir._ " Inoichi's eyes widened and he turned back to examine daughter closely, pulling her skirt back to show everything mid-thigh down, Inoichi could do nothing more than stare horrified at his daughter. Ino's left ankle was swollen twice its original size, both legs were riddled with steadily darkening and growing bruises and spots of burns riddled them like chicken pox. Pulling up her sleeves back carefully revealed a similar if less damaging bruises and burns. Even her face had light yellow bruises and a split lip, her short platinum hair was messy, splattered with mud and leaves which were parted only by tangles.

" _If she is to survive she will need a blood transfusion from kodomo_ ," Mamorigami continued passively, " _there is also the matter of the increase of negativity in the village. You should return and evacuate all civilians, I believe you will be under attack soon._ "

"Are the safe houses secure?" Shikaku asked as he dug around in his back pocket for something

" _No, the threat is coming from the safe houses_ ," Mamorigami answers, turning to look at the mountain in question, " _you should find lady Mikoto, she will know the best way out of the village_."

"I'll send a message to lord Hokage right away," Shikaku said "but it'll take me twenty minutes to reach him."

"It'll take me less than three," Shikaku and Inoichi both looked at the speaker and found themselves staring at the largest wolf they've ever seen. "Give it boy, we're running out of time." The wolf ordered coldly and Shikaku handed the quick report over without question, even Inoichi told the wolf a short message before she disappeared in a blur of copper movement too fast for the human eye to trace. Sakura waved to the blur that disappeared before turning to smile up at Shikaku as if nothing was wrong, she then turned at the sound of Ino's light giggle.

" _That was Mayu, she is the swiftest of the foxes_ ," Mamorigami said, answering the men's unanswered question, ignoring their expressions, she turned to look back down at Ino. " _We_ _must hurry if we're to save her, Ayumu,_ " another great fox stepped forward, golden eyes watching the men wirily, " _take the girls back to the chamber, they will be safest there._ " The medium sized fox nodded slowly, walking forward just as cautiously towards Sakura, butting his nose against her shoulder to get her to move forward and take up the place between him and Inoichi.

" _Inoichi-san will not harm you_ ," Mamorigami sighed in mild annoyance, " _We don't have time for you insecurities towards humans boy, hurry up._ " The fox whined at her but let Inoichi carefully placed Ino on his back, who was quickly followed by Sakura, he glanced back at the pinkette once before crouching low against the grassy ground.

"The sun is tinted red," the young fox whispered to Mamorigami, "betrayal is on the winds today."

" _GO_ ," Mamorigami ordered sharply and like a burst of hurricane force winds, the fox was gone

"I thought you said Mayu was fast," Inoichi wheezed as the air flew back beneath the branches of the willow, filling his lungs with the scent of willow flowers.

" _She is,_ " Mamorigami replied, " _Ayumu is the geneticist but also the most agile of the clan_."

"We should go help with the evacuations," Shikaku said as he rose to his feet and dusted off his slacks, "I'll go to the Inuzuka's, they're closest, they're also the fastest in the village."

"That's a good idea," Inoichi nodded, "I'll go after the boys."

"Boys?" Shikaku asked dumbly

" _No,_ " Mamorigami said at the same time, both men looked at her and paled at the nearly furious expression on her digital face, " _those men have trespassed on these grounds and taken the young of the forest. The foxes will retrieve them, you focus on everyone else._ " There was no way either one of them were going to question her, they both nodded and awaited their orders—from a _computer_. They'll have to go under psych evaluations later, for now the computer was giving them new orders to follow. " _Both of you get to your friends and leave this forest, it's about to get bloody, then evacuate the closest civilians and repeat the orders to any other shinobi you meet. Oh and don't trust the unpainted masks,_ " then the hologram was gone, leaving both men alone beneath the willow tree, well alone until a certain pup peeked out nervously and barked at them, reminding them of his presence.

"Are the demons gone?" the little pup asked fearfully

"The foxes are gone," Inoichi replied, "though I don't know what demons you're talking about."

"There are many canine summoning's throughout the world," the pup said as he slunk forward, tail tucked beneath him as he huddled between Inoichi's legs, "only that clan is called 'demon'."

"Why?" Shikaku asked as Inoichi lifted the small pup into his arms and they both began to leave the willow

"Because, the foxes of this forest are the children of the Kiyobi," the pup whined pitifully, "That is why we call them demons, they are little more than smaller versions of their father."

…

* * *

…

Kakashi cursed as he flipped midair, narrowing missing a dozen poisoned kunai, only to feel another body tackle his into the nearest tree but instead of killing him the other person started dragging him through the branches. It took only a moment to see Mikoto's furious crimson glowing eyes and the meaning behind them was enough to get him running beside her without question. They flew through the branches in perfect synchronization, blocking each others backs and covering the others weakness. Despite not being on the field for fourteen years, Mikoto was just as fast and terrifying as he remembered her to be. Fitting because she was teammates to the 'Red Hot Habanera' and 'Princess of light', which would defiantly explain her old nickname of 'hell's eyes ', and after watching her sharingan induced illusions come to life, he could firmly agree that she earned that name.

"Kakashi!" He turned in time to block an attack and sent the man flying into Mikoto's fire ball. Inoichi and Shikaku flew past him, Shikaku taking hold of his flank jacket and dragging him away. Mikoto quickly covered their backs and tore after them like a flaming tornado full of fury and followed by the screams of her victims.

"We're to leave the forest as soon as possible!" The pup in Inoichi's arms told them, "the demons are on the war path!" Kakashi cursed under his breath and gave a quick echoing whistle that summoned the rest of his pack, Mikoto snarled like an animal but held her tongue. It was her silence that was more terrifying then the haunting howling of animals and the screams of men that surrounded them; it also prompted them to run even faster out of the forest. When they jumped out of the forest, a huge shield went up, cutting off the entirety of the forest off from the village, they were greeted by a group of police officers and a few shinobi.

"E-vac the village!" Inoichi snapped, "get everyone to the safe houses in the western forest five clicks from the village!"

"Your friends have already started the civilian evacuation," one young Uchiha informed them, "lady Mikoto—"

"Our clan is to protect the civilians at once," she hissed her eyes still glowing a furious crimson, "don't stare at me get your ass in gear!"

"Yes ma'am!" The officers quickly retreated, leaving only her don and husband behind to deal with her

"Itachi get to lord Hokage and revive your instructions at once," Mikoto ordered waspish, she turned her eyes onto Fugaku, the look would've been enough to freeze most men's hearts but he grew up seeing that look so he was partially immune to it. "Husband," she said slowly, almost like a drawl, "you're not stopping me."

"Didn't think I could," Fugaku replied calmly, "you only get this mad when your sisters are involved." Mikoto blinked in surprise at him, her anger subsiding for now. "Give 'em hell," Fugaku smiled fondly at her, neither one seeing the others horrified looks.

"I think she already did Otou-san" Itachi said blinking at the large teal shield behind his mother and the pillar of black smoke rising high into the air a mile further back.

"If the reunion is done now," they turned at the voice, a large crimson stained wolf with golden eyes was staring at them calmly, "please leave the village."

"Excuse me?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow at her

"Yes ma'am," Kakashi interrupted quickly, "we'll leave them to you." She nodded and gracefully leaped through the shield just as a small fox leaped out, skidding the ground into a dead stop some passes away from them.

"My name is Barishi, I will guild you through the village to lord Hokage," the fox said politely

"We know lord Hokage's location," Itachi replied calmly, tilting his head to the side, "thank you for the offer though."

"Lord Hokage has also been evacuated," Barishi replied calmly, "he is no longer in the village." He shook his thick four, letting the drying blood fly off him like it was water, "all leaf shinobi are evaluating as well, now come with me." He started running, forcing the group to follow him or get left behind.

"Why did lord Hokage leave the tower?" Fugaku asked curiously

"When a demon says evacuate, you evacuate, no questions asked," the pup in Inoichi's arms whimpered

"And that includes everyone, not just civilians," the fox yipped with a smug grin; the pup looked at Kakashi pathetically but revived only a patient smile.

"What of Shikamaru and Choji?" Inoichi asked, "and my daughter, are all of them safe?"

"Shikamaru should be in the academy," Shikaku said seriously, "same with Choji, why are you asking about them?"

"The boys will be returned to you by night fall," the fox answered, a low growl rumbling in his chest, "no one hurts our kits and gets away with it." Shikaku shot a hard look at Inoichi, a silent demand to explain what was going on and how his son was involved. So Inoichi told him, enduring the cursing and name calling when he was done. The fox seemed immune to the resulting bickering between the teammates, the three Uchiha's ignored them and Kakashi seemed to be content to gathering his summoning's around them patently.

…

* * *

…

Naruto yawned sleepily as he followed Iruka through the forest, walking sullenly with his classmates. He honestly didn't quite understand why they were doing an emergency drill in the middle of a test but he figured it was cool to skip said test and not get in trouble for it. Some of the kids in front of him where whispering together, asking each other questions, perking in curiosity he listened to what they were saying. After a moment of listening in, he gave up, deciding that they weren't talking about anything he didn't already know; so he turned his attention to the whispering behind him, wondering if they were talking about the same thing. The Uchiha bastard and the Hyūga girl were whispering, asking if the other's parents told them anything about something special happening today. Uchiha-bastard said that nothing was hinted at, other than the need for him to finish his breakfast and practice before coming to the academy. The Hyūga girl sighed and twisted her fingers together, feeling nervous and afraid, of what Naruto didn't know but if she was that scared she would properly find comfort in a relative. Which, there was one coming towards them now, oh wait that was a whole class year coming towards them, her relative must be leading the class with his teacher.

"Alright kids, stay together!" Iruka ordered, waving the two classes together, "Mizuki, take the back please, Kiashin take the middle please."

"Right," both men walked down the rows, taking their rightful places, Naruto was a little bummed that the stoic Kiashin was going to be walking beside him but he guessed it was okay considering that the tenseness in the Hyūga girl lowered dramatically at his presence beside her. They walked a little further, past a few old ruined walls with tall archways and pretty flowers blooming everywhere, even a few trees that seemed to graceful to be native to the land of fire. Several of the children started whispering, wondering if they were going to an old ancient 'magical' land as some kind of reward for good behavior. But Naruto didn't believe in 'magic' so he kept his eyes peeled, watching the adults around them curiously, wondering why they would take everyone through the dark forest of the west instead of the nicer forest in the east. Well, the east forest was nice too him but that might've been because there were more animals in that one there were in this one. As they walked and walked, he noticed more and more shinobi guarding them, until he started seeing a few police officers and then the officers were taking the teacher's places, making them return for the next class or search for any stragglers.

"Naruto," Iruka called, crouching beside him and grabbing his attention, "I want you to be behave understood?"

"Yeah, sure what ever," Naruto replied dismissively, throwing his hands behind his head carelessly. Iruka sighed heavily, glancing up as someone appeared beside him making Naruto jump in surprise

"Naruto, this here is Shisui Uchiha," Iruka introduced the smiling young man, "he's a good friend of mine and knows to keep one eye on you at all times. So if you try seeking off again, he'll come after you, understand?"

"I don't sneak away _all_ the time," Naruto whined at him, "only when you get boring."

"Just listen to him," Iruka sighed, rising to his full height and turned towards the teen. "Naruto gets bored easily and distracted just as easily so make sure he doesn't stray too far okay?"

"Yes sir!" Shisui gave a goofy salute, complete with a big grin and his tongue sticking out, "you can count on me!" Iruka stared at him for a moment before signing tiredly and turned towards the group of kids behind Naruto.

"All of you look out for each other and don't wander too far, understand?" Iruka asked the group

"Yes sir," they agreed sullenly

"Good, Sasuke-kun, Hinata-Chan," Iruka looked down at the two kids behind the blonde, "I want you both to keep an eye on Naruto, don't let him stray too far, understand?"

"Yes sir," the two answered calmly

"That's not fair," Shisui pouted, "I can look out for him just fine."

"So you can look after the class full of four ditchers, five smart mouths, eight rule breakers, and nine short tempered self-proclaimed Kunochis?" Iruka asked doubtfully, "because all of them will turn on you in a second if you don't know how to deal with them."

"Iruka-sensei, maybe it isn't wise to leave us with Shisui-nii," Sasuke said thoughtfully, "he... Uh, he's too emotional and childish to deal with kids."

"Thanks for the boost of confidence Sasu-Chan," the teen pouted at him. Iruka sighed heavily, suddenly doubting in the young officer.

"Iruka!" He turned towards Mizuki curiously, "we've got to go!"

"Alright!" Iruka turned to follow his friend, he stopped, turned and gave Naruto a knowing look, "behave or you get no ramen."

"That's not fair!" Naruto yelled after his favorite teacher agitatedly. Iruka smirked as he ran back towards the village, unaware that his students could see a billowing black cloud rising through the air, towering high overhead like a storm in the making.

"Come along children," Shisui ordered, eyes narrowing at the darkening clouds, "we'd best hurry." They didn't question him, they each took each other's hands like Iruka taught them and hurried through the stone path, following the police officers closely.

 _I'm scared,_ Naruto thought as he followed Kiba blindly, in all honesty it was the first time he was scared, not just for himself but for some else as well. He felt the hand holding his left tighten reassuringly, looked back curiously at Sasuke, wondering why the other boy looked as scared as he felt.

"Don't be scared," Sasuke whispered, "my clan will protect us, they swore too it when they took up the badge."

"You mean they'll protect _you_ ," Kiba shot back, his voice trembling and the pup in his coat whining softly

"Hay, the officers take a similar vow to lord Hokage as shinobi do," Shisui smiled reassuring at the younger boy, "we just focus more on the civilians then ninja do, that's all." Kiba sniffed and pouted at him but didn't stop walking.

"I want my sister," Hinata whispered fearfully

"I'm sure she's helping evacuating like your father," Shisui tried to reassure her but received a horrified look instead

"Hanabi is _two_ ," Hinata squeaked, her pale violet eyes wide. Sasuke snorted in amusement, if a two year old was helping people evacuate then Naruto was Hokage and the village was a giant bowl of ramen.

"Then I know she's safe," Shisui's smile grew, "your clan is anal in protecting toddlers."

"What's anal?" Naruto asked curiously, Shisui felt the moment his aunt appeared behind him, nothing could make him feel like ant better than her glare.

"Mom," Sasuke smiled, dark eyes lighting up

"Shisui to the front," Mikoto ordered, "and keep your mouth shut."

"Yes ma'am," Shisui squeaked out, hurrying to escape before she changed her mind, not that she had too. The first Hyūga he came across slapped the back of his head and glared at him, apparently Shisui knew him because he just bowed his head and apologized before hurrying forward before Mikoto could snap at him again.

"Keep walking children," Mikoto ordered, only smiling at her son before gesturing for the line to keep moving, they did so without question. Sasuke pouted at not receiving his mother's attention, something he usually ignored in favor of training.

"She's just busy right now Sasuke-san," Hinata whispered to him as they walked, "You'll see her again later, don't worry."

Sasuke couldn't say anything back, there weren't any scathing remarks he could think of that would contradict her

…

* * *

…

He frowned at the report in his hand, once again they missed capturing the Hattori, they even failed in capturing the young Yamanaka. The only good news was that they were able to capture the two boys he's wanted and a couple of them even kept track of a few other kids he's been watching. Hearing about the immanent evacuation of the village, because the accursed foxes could apparently talk, he had been forced to send out the eight groups of shinobi who had special training in the rarer shinobi arts. However, because Orochimaru had some fun before he ran off, a few of them were experiential, which also made their minds unstable. Releasing one group led to the others being released because the damn animals in the forests were attacking them and the first group needed back up. Everything from the normal harmless animals like squirrels and rabbits, to the passive deer and birds, to the dangerous wolves and cougars were all attacking his men. It was as if all the animals in the forest banded together to kill his men yet helped Hiruzen's men escape, some even carrying the wounded to safety. It was a hassle and beginning to test his patients, but he was nearly ready to give a kill on sight order, knowing the battalions would annihilate everything in their path, animals and civilians included.

"Master," he looked up at his agent, coal eyes dark and serious, "your next order?" he could no longer hide in the shadows, pretend that he was controlling the village without anyone seeing him but that was just an illusion he pretended to have. The foxes have undoubtedly informed Hiruzen of his actions, he can't just pull out, not without an explanation to the paint-less masked Anbu attacking a couple of wayward children in the forbidden forest. Plus they undoubtedly have attacked the team sent in to find said children, not to mention they certainly attacked Shikaku for just being near the stubborn Hattori. If he called his men back, would Hiruzen suspect him for defying orders? Yes, defiantly, he was screwed. For now, his old friend was out of the village, the majority of his forces with him, meaning that instead of attacking him head on without a clue of all his cards, he's retreating to study his enemy.

If he knew who his enemy is… it's possible he still doesn't know, that means his men can still get close to those kids he's been watching, trying to decide if they were worth the trouble of training. If his men could succeed in getting even three of those children he could increase his forces and heavily damage Hiruzen's, after all the next generation is always more powerful than the previous. It may only be assumptions and speculations but it was worth a shot, even five of the children in the academy would be a great boost to his army, he needed only to get them. The only other problem would be if they could survive the training, most shouldn't have a problem but just to be sure, he should make sure those taken are from families with a long line of Shinobi blood in them. it would also be best if he sent them after the Jinchuriki but that could end badly if the right steps weren't taken, he could take the demon out of the blonde and—Suddenly a memory from his old cohort surfaced in his mind, reminding him of a possible army of Kiyōbi jinchuriki. Before he was found out and forced to leave the village, Orochimaru had come up with a theory about the Kiyōbi's power and a strategy to take it from one host body and evenly distribute it amongst dozens of others. However the process could only have a chance of success with a Hattori, preferably one who was 'immune' to the demon's chakra. With the Hattori's clan's destruction after the Kiyōbi attack the theory was never tested or even brought up again because _no one_ from the clan survived. Then again, he did find that little pink haired child roaming the old ruins the year before last, completely unaffected by the orange gas still reining control over the ruins. The only way for her to be unaffected by the most lethal gas of their world was for her to become immune to it and the only way was through the Hattori bloodline. So either she was the last survivor who spent the first seven years of her life getting used to the toxic miasma or she knew of a cure for the poisonous gas that made her virtually immune. If he could just catch the pink haired brat, he could do a DNA test and find out, if she truly was the last Hattori he could finally put Orochimaru's theory to the test.

"…Bring me the Kekkei Genkai," He ordered, voice low and dark, "… perhaps the Kiyobi as well."

"Yes sir," the young man smirked; he narrowed his eyes at the young man, watching him disappear into the darkness of his office. Either Yakushi was a cleaver little genius or he likes playing chess too much to be healthy, guessing other's people's moves is a dangerous game. He rose to his feet and walked out of his office, heading to the deeper sub-terrain levels of his base, not far along the road down a familiar young man landed just behind him, head bowed and fist over his heart.

"Speak," he ordered stopping in his tracks, "and be quick, I'm in a rush."

"Are you betraying lord Hokage?" well that was blunt, even for the young bug-eyed man kneeling behind him

"I am protecting the village," he answered coldly, the young man was quiet and he didn't need to look to know he had more questions, "What?"

"I don't understand your methods," he admitted softly, "aren't the children supposed to be protected?"

"Those who show potential shall be trained to be the guardians of the next generation," he answered beginning to walk forward, "One generation cannot expect the next to walk the same path. Steps are needed to protect those too weak to fight back and those steps require the strength of the strong."

"But sir, the battalions," the young man lifted his head, "They're on the war path…"

"Then so be it," he disappeared into the darkness, leaving the young man behind

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	9. Chapter 9

**First Impressions**

Chapter 9: To plan

Koomahana

 **To Plan**

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth or died leaving young children behind, this Yūrei (Demon) returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

Ino whimpered softly, the blood transfusion seemed to be working though she couldn't tell the difference. It felt as if the aching feeling of despair become over run with the feeling of fire slowly crawling through her veins. Sakura was kneeling beside her, both hands hovering over her skin, guiding the miasma out of her body through the cuts on her body. It seemed too slow and painful for someone to live through both processes but Ino guessed that was why Sakura was still with her, silently protecting her from the strange deformation in her DNA and carefully guiding the poison out while her blood got used to its new host. Mamorigami hovered over them, watching the process closely, whispering soft advice as if she were instructing her daughter on how to sow.

"Sh~hika…" Ino whimpered, barely even awake enough to realize she was awake. Sakura took in a deep breath and instead of pulling out the last of the miasma, she purified it and let her blood that was now circulating through Ino's body metabolize it and turn it into nutrients.

" _You gave her your adaption?_ " Mamorigami questioned softly, Sakura shook her head and held up one hand, putting a little space between her pointer finger and thumb. " _Ah, you gave her just enough to survive the small amount of miasma still in her system_ ," Sakura nodded and the hologram smirked at her, " _that is a good start to adjusting to your DNA sequence._ " Sakura smiled shyly at the hologram and carefully untucked her feet from beneath her and stretched them out beside herself, wincing slightly at the feeling of needles piercing her skin. She breathed slowly and rubbed at her calves, smiling as she felt the ticklish sensation of grass and flower petals rub teasingly against her bare legs. Ino whimpered again, her eyes tearing up as she murmured another name. Sakura took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly, looking up at Mamorigami silently; she tilted her head to the side carefully.

" _It is not wise for you to leave_ ," Mamorigami told her, " _the foxes will save the boys and take them back to_ _their parents safely_ _._ " Sakura pouted at her, ducking her head slightly and batting her big green eyes. " _I am a computer not a human,_ " Mamorigami drawled unimpressed, " _Your puppy-dog look doesn't work on me._ " Sakura sighed and flopped on the ground beside Ino, turning a moment later to curl beside her and quickly fell asleep. Mamorigami watched them for a moment before she looked at the high ceiling and smiled as the centered light slowly tickled down the walls, darkening the room til the ceiling looked like the night sky. Several large flowers tilted towards the moonless sky, their petals steadily opened ever so slowly and started glowing like moonlight. Seeing that the girls wouldn't wake for at least half a day, Mamorigami let her image flicker out from beside them and appeared on the other side of the room, hovering over the boy Sakura brought back. Only those who had a heart, the desire to die for something precious, could pass the training halls unharmed; she didn't know how he passed the test but he did.

Mamorigami would have to follow the young girl's judgment on this, she did not trust the boy

…

She knew that the only way to save her friend's boys was to leave the safety of the compound, however if she did that there was the possibility that she would never return home. Ino and that boy would be left alone and neither one of them would survive long in the tunnels. So once Mamorigami left to check the boy, she asked the flowers to create an image of her and then left through their roots, swimming through the earth like a fish in water. She always knew that the plants loved her but she never quite understood why, however, she was going to use their endless affection for her to the fullest. In the middle of her compound, Sakura slipped out of a tree like sap seeping through cracks, her bare feet touching the rubble strewn ground like feathers. In front of her was a group of people in green flank jackets mixed with others in navy blue their group was dotted with hundreds of familiar animals. Together they were facing the Shadow Animals, but the animals weren't alone, creatures of the likes she's never seen before were beside them. It was a war between the people like Shikaku and the Shadow animals, and every single one of them were turned towards her, watching her with wide surprised eyes.

"I am Sakura Hattori," She said walking forward calmly, straight in the middle of the two fractions, "I am the only child of Mebuki Hattori and Kizashi Haruno." She's never said so much before, not in the human language; it was strange feeling herself speak so softly and yet knowing her voice was echoing in this dim light of twilight. She turned towards the shadow animals, their focus was on her, and each one of them crouched low, ready to charge her. "I am here to banish you from these lands. Never return again. If you disobey me, your corpses will stain these walls like paint."

The shadows charged her with weapons drawn

The animals screamed in their own unique way, warning her away from the battal she cannot win

The creatures roared as they targeted the men like Shikaku, who panicked with indecision; save her or abandon her

She widened her stance and spread her hands out wide to either side of her, A swarm of poisonous mist gathered around her, protecting her from her enemies. The shadows never screamed as they entered the orange mist, then the creatures screamed as trees bloomed around the people like Shikaku. The creatures turned towards her, their eyes glowing in bloodlust and fury. Sakura stood alone, surrounded in a countless number of corpses, their bodies slowly melting like plastic in fire. The dozens of creatures readied themselves against her, spreading out to form a lose crescent shape around her. Sakura's head was bowed, her eyes hidden behind the shadow of her wild cherry locks, her hands open and lose at her sides. Hundreds of roots sprang from the ground, wrapping around the creatures like steal restraints. They screamed, several fleeing just before the roots could get them, but they didn't get far. The roots rose high into the air, slamming the creatures together, tangling them up and then dangling them on the edge of the compound, giving them a perfect view of the Hokage mountain. Not a moment later did their screams sound through the air, echoing through the village like the wails of banshees. Sakura stared at her feet, never before had she been forced to fight, forced to kill, but to do what she needed then this is the best way. Feeling a shift in the miasma behind her, Sakura put her plan into action. Wobbling on her feet unsteadily, Sakura let her knees give out before collapsing face first into black cloth of a once shadow. The shadow behind her hesitated but a shout from one of the people she spared pushed him into action. He scooped her up and ran for everything he was worth, evading weapons and fireballs alike, disappearing into the too silent forest. Sakura heard a loud and angry howl, she cracked one eye open and placed a finger to her lips. The young fox running in the shadows below her snarled one last time before disappearing himself, calling off his kin with a short angry yip.

In order to save the boys, she would have to infiltrate the Shadow Animals base. The best way to find them would be her getting caught by one of the Shadow Animals.

…

* * *

…

Naruto heard a scream and turned around in time to see blinding white consume his vision before his world turned black. Sasuke watched dumbly as Hinata screamed before being ripped out of his hold first, quickly followed by Naruto disappearing in a swirl of shadows. Then he saw Kiba and then Shino stolen by more shadows, then a few other kids from his year and suddenly he was crushed between Ami, five other kids, two chunin, and his cousin Shisui who flitted around them like a hornet on the war path. There was screaming and he watched as a shadow slashed down one chunin only to be blocked by his cousin, but then the other chunin was dead. Ami screamed as she was pulled away from him, leaving bloody nail tracks on his arm as she was forced away. The other kids scrambled together, three thought running would be a good idea but they were soon taken too. The other two kids left behind with him were soon clinging fearfully together, little Kasumi was crying and clinging to her older twin brother but that seemed to do little when a shadow swooped in and took them together.

Then he was alone

Alone in this battle stricken world of shadow verses officer and to his horror he found that his clan did not appear to be winning. To his frightened mind, he saw his cousins falling, his uncles collapsing, his aunts screaming, his father disappeared in a swarm of black, his mother…

Sasuke screamed, shrill and loud, his mother was just swallowed whole by the earth itself

He never noticed the number of shadows steadily growing around him, never saw the panic in Shisui's eyes, and never heard the order to run. He just stared at the large bolder sitting where his mother once stood, tall and foreboding like a stone reaper ready to steal away another of his family. Sasuke collapsed to his knees, black eyes wide and tear stained, face pale, body trembling, his world ceased existing. Then he heard a shout, too close for comfort, a yell of panic, and he turned towards it, fear filling him as he watched a shadow with the face of a serpent move towards him terrifyingly slow. He watched, unable to move, as the shadow reached out with black clawed fingers, threatening to steal the life he still held. At the last possible moment, without his permission, Sasuke leaned back nearly collapsing against the surface of the earth. The Shadow's hand ghosted through his bangs, the cloth of his sleeve brushed against Sasuke's nose, stinging it. He tried to rise and turn at the same time, watching the Shadow turn just as slowly as Sasuke felt he was moving, there didn't appear to be anything more he could do. The Shadow was going to take him away just like his classmates; he wouldn't even be able to put up a fight. As the Shadow reached for him again, the mask contorted into a snarl, its black serpent body expanded around him, isolating him in a blackened world of pure terror, deafening him with the screams of others.

…

* * *

…

His mother sobbed uncontrollably holding him so tightly he swore his ribs were cracking crushing hug. He felt his father wrap both of them in a tight hug, burying his face into his mother's hair. Fugaku broke his lag trying to get to Sasuke in time, his mother was nearly crushed trying to reach him and he (Itachi) arrived only in time to see his parents landing in a heap between two dead Chunin. It took him walking towards them and hearing his mother's distorted wailing to understand what his mind refused to believe.

The white masked men took his brother

"I told him to run," Fugaku whispered into his hair, his voice thick with unshed tears. Itachi could do nothing but stare numbly into the dark space between his parents, his knees shaking and threatening to collapse beneath him. Itachi's hold on his mother tightened, he's never been one to hug his parents but right then he was returning their desperate, terrified hug, not knowing what else to do.

"What are they going to do to him?" Mikoto tightened her hold on Itachi, tears streaming out of her now dark eyes. Slowly Fugaku released Itachi and carefully pulled her away from Itachi, giving the young boy a look that spoke volumes. Itachi pated his mother's back and nodded at his father numbly, there was only one thing he could do left. Protecting the academy students was his first mission, arriving too late to be any good, he knew his mission was adjusted from protecting them to finding and rescuing them. He walked away from his parents, weaving his way closer and closer towards the medics, wondering if any of his relatives had gotten seriously hurt. The five rows of eight wounded each were only interrupted by groups of wounded teenagers looking like they lost a fight with a needle dispenser. So far they they've lost only two chunin, but their protective squads of Chunin were nearly obliterated in the fight, a sign of someone truly powerful swept through them like a hurricane.

"Itachi," he turned at the unusually soft voice, his too blank dark eyes locked onto his cousin and best friend. "They took all the kids," Shisui murmured his eyes glued to the ground in shame, "I told them they would be safe, that we would protect them..."

"And we have five wounded officers for it," Itachi reminded him coldly, "they may have succeeded with the first kid but they struggled for the rest. Every minuet we held them off was another moment we were able to take out one of their men and a moment more we protected them." That was true, there were at least five dead black cloaked men with the white animal masks, so far he only saw two dead chunin; the two who were supposed to protect his brother.

"But we still lost them Itachi," Shisui frowned at him, "not just one or two, _all_ of them, even your brother." Shisui clutched at his still bleeding arm, red eyes over whelmed with tears and one rolled down his cheek, smearing the dirt along the way.

"You did your best," Itachi replied, "I should've gotten here sooner... Maybe I could've helped..."

"We all could've arrived sooner," They both turned at the low voice, two rumbled Hyuga's stood with a severally wounded Uchiha held up between them.

"We need your help," the younger and less wounded Hyūga started, letting one of the medics take the young Uchiha officer away from them, "they took lady Hinata, our clan heir."

"We also saw them take a couple of your clan kids too," the elder added, "not just the ones here, your genin and almost graduates. The ones helping evacuating the little ones and elders through the forest."

"Did you see who else they took?" Itachi asked, eyes narrowing in thought

"They targeted those with obvious bloodlines first," the younger answered, "and then those from shinobi families. They left behind all the first and second generation Shinobi; a few of the older kids got seriously hurt trying to protect the kids. That might be why they just grabbed any kid they could here but were picky with the other classes," he pointed towards a group of field medics, hurrying and panicking over several twelve and thirteen year old kids covered in blood.

"They also went straight for Uzumaki-san," the elder added with a frown, "I think they were going to take him first but... Hinata-sama must've gotten in their way, forcing the second one to take him instead of your little brother."

"They headed for Sasuke first?" Itachi asked seriously, straightening with the information

"No, I believe Uzumaki-san was first, your brother was second," the elder corrected, "Hinata-sama must've sensed something wrong and got in the way."

"Which means after her scream, nothing went the way they planned," Shisui said, a slow, proud smile stretching across his face. "Well wouldn't you know it Tachi-chan, she was braver than we thought she was." Inwardly, Itachi was happy his cousin was back to normal; outwardly he decked his cousin for the nick-name. The two Hyūga shared bewildered looks but shrugged it off when Itachi smirked and started walking away, looking completely relaxed with the situation.

"Hay man, don't leave me behind," Shisui snickered, hurrying after Itachi with a skip to his step, "I've got a couple of little brats to impress too ya' know." They stopped as a familiar, haggard looking chunin slid to a stop in front of them, carefully handing off a wounded genin to the nearest medic before marching towards them. As he walked towards them, he looked around the field as if searching for something, before frowning and seemingly picking up his pace towards them.

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" Iruka asked sounding more demanding an answer then requesting one

"Hmm, many men would want the bloodlines of the village," Itachi hummed, glancing at his cousin, "only one would want all of them and still want the jinchuriki too."

"You think it's him?" Shisui frowned thoughtfully, "well guess I shouldn't ask, he's pretty greedy."

"Who are you talking about?" Iruka asked curiously, "do you know where Naruto is?"

"He's properly in the village by now," Shisui answered, nodding at a medic as she quickly stopped the bleeding in his arm, "Along with everyone in your class."

"What?!" Iruka hissed, spinning on his heal and following them, "Mizuki went that far?"

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked, walking beside his cousin calmly

"Mizuki said that he worked out a deal with some weird Anbu," Iruka explained, his hands fisting at his sides and his teeth grinding together, "they were going to seal the Kiyobi away."

"The Kiyobi is sealed away though," Shisui frowned at Iruka, only to realize what he meant and cursed wildly. Itachi said nothing before he was gone, Shisui and Iruka quickly following him, the medic whined at Shisui as she tried to keep up and bandage his arm as she ran with them.

…

* * *

…

"You are sure of this?" Hiruzen asked, before him stood Inoichi, Shikaku (Yoshino still clinging to him), a number of police officers and a few Chunin, the latter two groups got swept up in a fight with the foxes and five fully developed battalions with a few dozen mutants mixed in. He had been in a meeting with the respectful fox named Mayu, as well as Kohaku and Homura when Inoichi and Shikaku barged in. Both were panic stricken as they tried to explain what happened only to get interrupted by the captains of the two groups who let curiosity drag them into a war between animals, mutants and shadows.

"We're sure," Inoichi answered, still gasping for breath, "I can show you my memories if you want."

"That won't be necessary," Kohaku replied courtly, "we trust your word." Hiruzen had the nagging feeling that there was something else the old man wanted to say but kept his mouth shut.

"The only person who commands the paint less masks of Anbu is Danzo," Homura said, straightening in her seat, "that branch of Anbu was called Root."

"but that branch was disbanded by Hiruzen years ago," Kohaku replied, "for Danzo to disobey him and even go so far as to kidnap the children of the next generation is to commit treason. Are you saying that is exactly what he has done?"

"Who else would target our children with men who wear porcelain white masks in the shape of animals that children are most commonly afraid of?" She asked, looking at him calmly, "Danzo has always done what he could to make Hiruzen look like a fool."

"Danzo has never put the village in danger before," Kohaku countered

"If he is innocent he will arrive at the emergency bunkers in the west by sundown," Hiruzen said, "in the meantime, break is over, get everyone moving."

"Yes sir!" the chunin and Police officers were gone in blurs

"Hold on a moment," Hiruzen called, stilling the two teammate's "Shi-kun, tell Kakashi and his team to destroy anyone they come across that hinders their mission." The pup whimpered and jumped out of Inoichi's arms before taking off in a blur of movement. "Inoichi, Shikaku," they both turned to look back at Hiruzen, drawing straighter postures at his deadly serious expression, "Send a team to the bunkers and secure it. We must not let anyone else occupy them and if Danzo is truly a traitor then we can't afford his agents to infiltrate it."

"Understood sir," they were gone in matching blurs, names and ranks flying through their minds at impossible speeds.

"May I speak?" Mayu asked, tilting her head at Hiruzen. Kohaku and Homura scowled at her, she had already made it clear that she'll only address Hiruzen and only listen to his words. The two councilors could get stabbed for all she cared.

"You may," Hiruzen smiled at her, "please don't be so formal, if you wish yo speak then please do so."

"Yes sir," Mayu nodded courtly, "there is a village further north of here that the civilians could reside in untill further notice."

"What of our shinobi?" Homura interrupted, making Mayu snap her jaws closed, "surely you don't expect them to reside in the forest unprotected and vernable do you?" Hiruzen sighed, his shoulders slumping as he saw that Mayu completely shut down at the sound of another voice.

"Mayu-chan," he addressed warmly, his councilors scowled at him and the young fox perked her ears, "what of my men? Where can they go?"

"I will need to discuss it with my mother but I believe I can take at least ninety-percent of your forces to our home land," Mayu answered, Hiruzen quickly raised a silencing hand, stilling Homura's scathing remark.

"Will your mother allow that?" Hiruzen asked, straightening in his seat; no one has ever stayed long in a summoning's world, there were rumors of great consequences

"She values all living beings," Mayu answered serenely, "I can only try."

"I suppose that is all I can ask of you," Hiruzen sighed, smiling bitterly at her. Mayu bowed her head and dismissed herself, disappearing into the darkness. His councilors rounded on him like a couple of angry bulls.

"How can you even consider that?" Homura seethed at him, "did you forget about the Kiyobi? Do you seriously think anyone in our forces will go willingly into the wolves den?!"

"They're foxes not wolves," Hiruzen replied, "besides the fox race isn't known to be violent. They're more likely to run from conflict then to embrace it, that was why they were contracted to the Hattori clan. How often did a Hattori start a fight? Never. They were our best diplomats before the attack. They're most commonly used insult was the Kitsune Kin, meaning they would run first and ask questions later."

"If foxes are so passive why did the Kiyobi attack us?" Homura asked, her face beginning to red in anger

"I do believe that Danzo is partially right," Hiruzen sighed heavily, "the kiyobi was controlled but that doesn't mean the entirety of a single clan, our most powerful clan, is at fault. I was there in that fight, I saw only one young man atop the Kiyobi."

"Other witnesses depict seeing the Kiyobi with Sharingan eyes," Kohaku spoke up at last, opening his eyes and silencing his sister. "Both Danzo and Hiruzen are right," Homura blinked and straightened her seat, listening to her brother who was rarely wrong. "Danzo is correct that the Kiyobi was controlled by a Sharingan user, he is incorrect in blaming the entire clan for the betrayal of a single individual. We didn't massacre the Hyuga's when Hinashi betrayed us and even gave his eye away to a hidden mist Jonin."

"Hinashi didn't destroy half of our village," Homura replied, much calmer bickering against her brother

"No he just exposed our Anbu's identities, revealed the armory and weapon factory, every clan compound, the training facilities, and what we do in an emergency," Hiruzen jabbed at her, "the recompression of which was the death of over half our Anbu agents, something we're still trying to recover from and the relocation of ev—"

"I'm well aware of what Hinashi did and didn't do, Hiruzen," Homura drawled, "I also remember the relocation of every clan well."

"I also believe that Danzo would stop at nothing to destroy Hiruzen," Kohaku continued, silencing the beginnings of another fight. "and if we get in the way of that we'll die as well," Homura jerked at the declaration, having not thought of that herself. "Our choices are to follow Hiruzen and die with honor or to follow Danzo and die as traitors." Hiruzen sighed and rubbed irritated at his brow, if Homura chose Danzo then Kohaku would follow her at the same time if she chose to follow Hiruzen then again Kohaku would follow. Those two twins were inseparable; they were like perfect reflections of the other, from their appearance, to their personalities, to even their opinion in matters.

Hiruzen could only pray that Homura would chose to fight with him and save herself the heartbreak of betraying her brother

…

* * *

…

She flew through the air like a leaf in a storm, there was little she couldn't do when she ran so fast, less than a blur even to the Byakugan. The wind whistled in her ears, howling echoed around her and she responded with her own, feeling pride as the scent of her children surrounded her. The forest hummed with life, the air filling with the scent of blood and fire, fury burned in her chest as she ran ever faster. Her perfectly yellow eyes locked onto a group of men ahead, surrounding one of her younger kits, the poor pup had a broken paw and couldn't fight back. She snarled furiously as she leaped at the men with weapons drawn. One paw crushed the ribs the closest one, her jaws snapped around the throat of another, her tail pierced through a third. She threw the one in her mouth and the one on her tail at another two, then slashed at another four. In seconds the group was dead, their bodies ripped open for the world to see.

" _Mother_ ," the pup whined to her

" _You shouldn't be here little one_ ," she scolded, " _return to the ruins at once_." The pup whined softly as one of her elder kits lifted it up and disappeared into the forest, returning to the once compound.

" _How are the others?_ " She turned expectantly towards one of her eldest child

" _The youngsters are infiltrating the base before extraction,_ " the male answered, his graying fur smoothing as he relaxed before her. " _How many more shadows are there?_ "

" _I'm not sure_ ," she answered turning her nose into the wind, " _each platoon smells different, like they're not quite human but certainly aren't animal either_."

" _Could they be some kind of half breed?_ " He asked, " _that snake-demon did dapple in human-animal genetic manipulation just before he left the village._ "

" _I suppose you have a point,_ " she sighed, " _that would explain their strange scent..._ " They fell quiet, listening to the sounds of screams of human and animal a like, explosions and echoes filled the air, the sky was swallowed in the darkness of smoke and rained ash upon them as if cremations were performed high above the black clouds coating the village.

" _Something is bothering you,_ " the fox said slowly, tilting his head to the side

" _Why has that man decided now of all times to attack?_ " She asked, staring out at the smoke filled sky, " _why now? What has changed?_ "

They could only make assumptions about the sudden change in tactics

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	10. Chapter 10

**First Impressions**

Chapter 10: To be trapped

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth or died leaving young children behind, this Yūrei (Demon) returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

Iruka stilled, dark eyes widening as he watched the slightly larger than normal fox sneak up on the masked man and pawed carefully at his pant leg before vanishing like a light switch being flipped. The man didn't even show any sign of feeling it, he continued to talking to his teammates before dismissing them, watching them disappear before he walked into the nearest set of bushes and disappeared himself. Iruka took in a sharp breath and quickly followed the man in the forever high branches overhead, watching the man as closely as he could. The man didn't go too far into the woods, just out of sight of the road he had been standing in previously. He stopped, looked around like a nervous bird before sitting on the ground, putting his hands firmly on his knees and waited. Not even a moment later a burst of orange bolted out of the closest bush and head slammed straight into the man's chest, nearly knocking him over in the process. The man chuckled breathlessly, petting the fox like it was his pet, murmuring welcoming words to it—then it talked back. Iruka was too shocked to see the fox talk then to listen to its words and by the time he did clue in to the animals words he was done talking.

"...then they took our kits," the fox said, backing away to sit before the man regally, pushing its chest out and leveling it's perfectly yellow eyes at him. "We need to know where the children are to save them."

"Wait, Danzo is still trying to get _her_?" The man asked, "but no one comes back from that forest alive, why dose he still want her?"

"Who wouldn't want a soldier that is next to impossible to kill?" The fox asked tilting its head to the side

"I suppose that's fair enough," the man sighed. "Alright I'll show you were the kids are but there's no way you can do it alone. I don't care how strong your clan is Bishido, your strongest are stalling the eight 'battalions' and honestly, I don't think they can last much longer without summoning your freaking Kaa-Chan."

"There is nothing wrong with mother," the fox replied, completely unimpressed with the man sitting in front of him. "And we'll hardly be alone."

"Other forest creatures aren't much help when their dead." The man rolled his eyes

"We don't need humans help," the fox sounded insulted

"I'm human," he reminded the animal who decided that silence was the only proper answer to give. The man sighed heavily, slumping in his relaxed position. "Look you'll need at least three teams of anbu level shinobi to even have a chance at getting close enough to the encampment."

"What about a couple of geniuses?" The fox watched amusedly as the man in front of him had a heart attack, the speaker was actually laying flat on the ground, having narrowly missed the dozen kunai.

"Serves you right," Itachi drawled as he landed behind the man and close to his cousin

"Ah, Itachi-san, I thought you were in the village?" The man asked, turning to look up at him with big bug eyes

"Hello Tenzo-san," Itachi greeted calmly, "I was not aware you worked for Danzo."

"Everyone in Anbu works for Danzo," Tenzo drawled, "even if they don't know it."

"I see," Itachi blinked at him

"Whoa, wait up!" Tenzo flew to his feet, eyes wide in mind terror, "they didn't take your kid brother did they?!" Itachi's aura grew dark in a second, his smile was stiff and rigid. Making him look like a freakishly realistic wax figure of jack the ripper in the middle of a killing spree... Or about to start one.

"I swear I had no part in that," Tenzo said quickly, looking like a scared child

"I know," Itachi answered courtly, seemingly scaring Tenzo further. The young fox behind the wood user yawned in boredom, which seemed to amuse Shisui.

"If your done scaring each other into next week," the fox drawled, "the children don't have long before training starts and its five years too soon for the kits."

"Don't foxes grow fast?" Shisui asked as he patted his pants clean again

"Normal foxes sure," Bishido shrugged, "but not us. We grow slow because our lives are fifty times longer than humans, so our bodies adapted for the longer life span; the reason we grow so slowly."

"The average human lives about eighty years," Shisui said, tilting his head to the side

"Our eldest is four thousand," Bishido replied calmly, finding great amusement in the teen's look of horror

"We can't just storm into Anbu quarters, even with them," Tenzo told the fox, his eyes snapped over to Iruka as he landed into the small clearing. "If we can find three more geniuses on Itachi's level then we might have a chance, but even then we're no match for the brute force of the battalions." It went unsaid that Itachi was a once in a century genius, any other 'genius' would look like a child compared to him.

"We animals will deal with the freak shows," Bishido said calmly

"Tenzo!" They looked up in time to see Kakashi and Kurenai jump down from the trees, followed quickly by a small yellow fox

"Big brother," the smaller fox greeted with a warm feminine voice, "they are to help us with the children, _mother's orders_ ," she added quickly when Bishido started to protest. The male grumbled to himself as the female turned towards the four other males.

"We'll have only two females?" The fox asked dryly, "how boring."

"If you hate males so much, why don't you go home and count the pups?" Bishido hissed at her, then yelped as she bit his nose. Kurenai smirked at the smaller fox as she jumped into her arms and snuggled against her neck.

"Is anyone else coming?" Tenzo asked, just to make sure he wouldn't be attacking any friendly's by accident.

"Yup," Shisui smirked, "we've got a medic!" A rustling in the branches overhead and then silence

"Nice way of being considerate," Itachi stated blankly at his cousin

"Excuse me," Shisui was gone in a blur, three seconds later and there was the sound of a shout, then a scream and suddenly Shisui was in front of them, one thrashing medic over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" The medic screamed, "I heal not fight! I'm not fit for this mission!"

"You don't want to heal a bunch of kids?" Shisui asked, wincing when her knee slammed into his wounded arm

"You need someone who doesn't have a connection to Anbu!" The woman shouted, "my brother is Anbu! That makes me unreliable! Now let me go!"

"I'm Anbu," Itachi and Tenzo drawled together, the woman stopped thrashing and glared over her back at their general direction.

"Several of our older kits will accompany us to the base," the yellow fox replied calmly, ignoring the woman as she started thrashing and arguing with Shisui again. "What they lack in experience they make up for in energy."

"In other words they're masters at making people lose their tempers," Bishido said as he pawed gently at his stinging nose.

"Like you?" Tenzo asked with a smirk

"Can we save Naruto now?" Iruka asked bluntly interrupting, he turned towards Kakashi as if he was the one running the show. "Kakashi-san we still don't know if they've done anything to him."

"Who has Naruto?" Kakashi asked sharply, the woman froze in Shisui's hold, one hand pressed against his head and the other on his shoulder. Shisui's good arm was wrapped under her rear, supporting all of her weight, his other hand was trying to push her other hand off his face without hurting it further.

"Danzo plans on sealing the kiyobi into one of his men," Itachi answered, "though he also apparently wishes to have a soldier that can't be killed."

"Hime can be killed though it is difficult," Bishido corrected, Shisui gently put the woman down but kept a firm hold on her arm.

"Who are you talking about?" The woman asked seriously, bringing herself into the discussion, "Naruto should be in the emergency bunker right now, why isn't he?"

"Naruto was one of the children taken by the white masked men who ambushed us," Shisui answered "weren't you there?"

"I arrived after the fight," she replied patiently before looking down at Bishido, "now who is this hime you're talking about?"

"She is the Hattori survivor," the young fox in Kurenai's arms answered, "Ms Ino Yamanaka gave her the name Sakura."

"There's a survivor?" Kakashi questioned, his good eye widening

"And Danzo wants her," Tenzo agreed courtly. The first thing in Kakashi's mind was the thought that if the surviving Hattori lived through the Kiyobi's attack head on, it was possible that she could also survive the sealing of the demon into her. A Hattori with endless energy, unlimited adaptions and blind, endless loyalty; they made the perfect soldier for Danzo Shimura. A Jinchuriki from the powerful Hattori clan would be a demon in human skin, a true monster—and it was loyal to the most heartless of men in this world.

They could not let that happen

As if things couldn't get worse, one of Kakashi's dogs reported back to him, appearing in a puff of smoke beside him. Not a moment later there was a sharp, shrill, piecing whistle through the air. The young pup covered its ears and whined at Kakashi pathetically. Kurenai dropped the fox she was holding and covered her ears, everyone else was quick to do the same.

"What was that?" Shisui asked when the noise was gone, growling made everyone look down at Bishido and the golden fox, both pacing agatatly.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked seriously, straightening when the two foxes turned towards him sharply

"They took hime," Bishido answered with a growl, "she let them take her!"

"We know that she would never disobey Mamorigami," the other one hissed at him, "she must've gotten caroused out and possessed!"

Only one clan could take possession of people

"I'm gone, later," the woman said, turning on her heal and marching out of Shisui's reach, "I'll report that back to lord Hokage."

"Nice try missy," Kakashi said, "we'll need a medic for this, you're the only one nearby."

"I'll send someone to you," she replied dismissively

"Kakashi's pup can relay the information back to Hiruzen," Itachi replied

"I'll do it," the pup spoke up, "Hiruzen says that you can kill anyone who prevents you from taking the kids back."

"Great, go tell him our findings," Kakashi ordered, the small animal ran past the woman, dosing her in a cloud of dust. She coughed and hacked, waving one hand in front of her and covering her mouth with the other. Suddenly warm fingers wrapped around her wrist, her eyes locked onto his dark uniform and she instantly dropped her eyes to the ground.

"Please look at me Ms," Shisui said softly, almost pleadingly

"No, I'm not that dumb," she retorted, "my brother told me that the Sharingan can seriously screw with someone's head."

"Well," Shisui started slowly, sounding in thought, "he's not wrong... I swear they're not on!" She snorted in dismissal, Shisui sighed and slumped but didn't let go of her wrist.

"Can I ask what your name is?" Kakashi asked in boredom, "you know for the marker we'll leave behind because you're obstructing our mission?" Iruka thought he was serious and was looking at him in alarm, Kurenai gave him a disbelieving look, Itachi didn't appear to care.

"Rin Nohara," the woman retorted lowly, glaring at him coldly, "and you're perfectly free to get yourself killed."

"...You still hate me?" Kakashi asked weakly, his heart nearly stopping as recognition flashed in his eyes.

"She is my _sister_ ," she hissed, her perfectly copper brown eyes filling with water

"Yuri it was an acci—"

"Bull Pie," she interrupted, "and its Yu _rin_ now." Kakashi sighed and bowed his head, his good eye closing in defeat

"We need your help Yurin-san," Itachi spoke up first, "please, we'll need a medic for this mission."

"The only way I'm gonna follow the grim reaper is hog-tied and knocked out," Yurin growled, ripping her wrist free and started to march away

"Deal," Shisui grinned

…

* * *

…

He could smell a dampness that told him something was leaking in his apartment again; except it smelled a little different, more musky and cold then the normal smell of rotting wood and moldy cloth. Slowly his hearing dulled from the high ringing to the soft sound of dripping water. His body felt heavy and cold, damp even, did he fall into the river again and pass out? Did he fall into a well or something similar? He took in a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes; darkness greeted him like the swarming of drunken strangers on his birthday. He stiffly pushed himself up, hissing when his elbows popped and his knees cracked painfully. He tried to look around himself, trying to see shapes in the darkness, like the sharp corners of his dresser or the shallow curve of his kitchen doorway. The only thing he could see was the dark, damp wall about eight feet from his nose. At his feet was another wall, almost too dark for him to see anything on its surface, it didn't even appear to have a door way. In fact, none of the walls surrounding him had what looked like a doorway; they were all perfectly flat, almost like glass. Curious he pressed his ear against one wall and listened closely, wondering if he couldn't make out a noise on the other side. One heartbeat, his own, was all he could hear, he counted them in the hopes of hearing something else.

One thump, two thump, three thump...

…

He woke with a start, slamming striate up with a loud gasp, his heart beating erratically in his chest. It took him only a moment to remember that his kidnapper had realized that Choji was beginning to wake up and had put them both under the bliss genjutsu just to be safe. That means that after the battalion update everything is blank. He doesn't know how long they've been gone, if it was night or day, if they were in the village or if they were a sleep for a week; which could put them just about anywhere outside of the fire nation.

"Me~a," he nearly had a heart attack at the soft sound. "Me~w?" There was a tiny dark creature using his left leg as a perch, its wide glowing yellow eyes blinking sleepy at him.

"You scared me," Shikamaru whispered, carefully pulling the creature into his arms and holding it close. He couldn't stop the smile as the kit put one paw on his shoulder and the other tapped teasingly against his chin. "What are you doing here little one?" Shikamaru asked softly, "I thought you were with your mother?" The baby fox yapped at him cheerfully, making his smile grow as he leaned back against the stone wall behind him.

"Well, it looks like I'll have my work cut out if I'm gonna protect you," the fox purred and curled up just beneath his chin, not quite touching his neck. In the darkness of his cold cell, he could feel a warmth seep into his back, like a tiny candle trying to warm him. He closed his eyes and tried to envision the colorful lights Inoichi sometimes described when he did a quick training session with Ino when he though Choji and him where asleep or not paying attention. At first he could only feel the candle light on his back but then that candle light grew and grew until it was a bonfire to his senses.

When he tried to put a name to the flame, he could only think of Naruto

…

He awoke slowly, the whispers of his constant companions were yelling at him, ordering him to wake up. Their alarm and fear nearly over riding his senses, making him panic for only a moment. But deep steady breaths helped, his father's lessons surfacing in his mind and practice soon took over, calming even his insects.

Clear heads win fights, calm hearts prevail— _breathe_

One breath… two breath… three breath…

…

His eyes popped open, sweat trickled down his face, making him feel itchy. In the endless darkness of the cell, he see everything in a thick coat of maroon red. He knew the burning in his eyes wasn't because he fell asleep crying, it was because he woke up Sharingan. He knew it was his bloodline because the wall to his left was glowing a feint orange light, something he automatically associated with Naruto.

 _"Listen to your teachers, baby,"_

 _"Mo~om, I'm not a baby anymore!"_

 _"You'll always be my baby,"_

She died trying to get to him, trying to protect him from the serpent that was going to take him away forever. He watched as that snake ran past her body, leaving her in the grass field for the bugs to eat. Or... Was that apart of the genjutsu? Did he make him see his mother's death so he would awaken the Sharingan? If that was the case then he had to pretend that he didn't have the Sharingan, he had to honor his mother and keep them sealed in his mind. If someone found out they would take his eyes away and shame his clan, his mother would be disappoint in him.

 _"Sasuke, Hinata, I want you both to look out for Naruto, understand?"_

 _"yes sir,"_

Sniffing in the darkness, Sasuke whipped at his eyes and crawled towards the glowing wall. Pressing against its warmth, Sasuke tried to dry his tears, because: 'big boys don't cry' (his mother once said it mockingly to his father). Whipping at his cheek he pressed one hand to the wall and injected his chakra, letting it warm up to Naruto. A silent message that he wasn't alone, he didn't need to be scared, he was there too.

…

He first noticed the grate overhead, letting in dim firelight from a place too far to the right for him to see, the cold of the stone burned him whenever he touched it. He sighed heavily and sat on the floor, careful not to touch the freezing walls, out of his shirt pocket his friend popped out and licked his cheek, removing the tear rolling down. He had almost forgotten that it was on his shoulder when the shadow tackled him, the pup must've ducked into his pocket to be protected. He smiled at the small pup, carefully cupping its shivering body with one hand, pushing it a little higher onto his shoulder, hoping the warmth of his neck and hair could warm it up. The pup climbed onto his shoulder and licked his cheek, rubbed against it and then laid down on his shoulder, trusting him entirely as it slept.

 _Is Shikamaru and Ino here too?_ Chōji thought as he looked up at the grate covering his cell, _is that why I couldn't find them before?_

…

She sniffed, rubbing at her cheeks with dirty palms. Her ankle burned, the swelling seemingly growing by the second, the scratches on her arms seemed to have healed but they burned like fire. She was surrounded in stone walls but the ceiling was a steal grate, giving her the impression that her cell was underground and the grate was actually floor level. Did they think she was an animal? That she was as useful as a worm? That she was only an insect they could touchier and then kill? What was the point of taking _her_? Her brother was bigger and stronger!

"Kasami?" A voice whispered, "Kasami are you there?"

"Nii-san?" she whispered, looking up fearfully, "Is that you big brother?"

"No its the buggy man," he retorted sarcastically, "Sorry," he said, knowing she was still afraid of the dark, "I... I shouldn't have said that…"

"It's okay," she said, pushing herself up and reaching out to the bars in the corner of her cell, "I know it's you now."

"Who else could it be?" he asked

"I don't know," she said honestly, "but I'm glad they didn't separate us." She used her knees and hands to brace herself in the corner, steadily crawling up to reach one hand out the grate top and search the top for her brother's hand. Her patting must've been loud because it seemed to be a few seconds later that she felt her brother's hand brush her's. Feeling overly joyed, she tried to push herself higher, she let go of him and gripped the bars tightly, she pushed her arms through and lifted herself up as high as she could.

Her goal was to put her head in the gap between the bars, maybe she could get a look at her surroundings—maybe she could see her brother!

…

She awoke in the darkness like an exploding bomb, her eyes widening and her bloodline blooming to life, silently protecting her. At first only darkness greeted her, then slowly, like baby fireflies glowing for the first time, colorful chakra signatures bloomed around her; welcoming her silent presence. She recognized her cousin Neji first, her relief sounding strong and warm in her signature as his own brushed against hers like the cold calm hand of her father helping her down stairs for the first time. Then a soft hum of Shino's insects buzzed around his grate, searching for a weakness, and then the two signatures of Kiba and Akamaru waking like fluff balls of cotton dancing on the wind. The soft trickle of water from Ami, the flutter of butterflies from Chōji, the never ending sunlight from Naruto, the feel of fire crackers and pop rocks from Sasuke, the slow sleepy breeze from Shikamaru and dozens more that slowly wormed their way into her vision. As her range steadily grew and grew, she found more and more of her classmates appearing left and right; surrounding her like the layers of rose petals.

She hick-upped, whipped at her wet cheeks and crawled across her damp rocky floor, huddling up against the other wall with only her left leg extended because of the short chain clasped around her ankle. She leaned against the comforting wall, smiling softly as she pressed her face and hand into the cold smooth surface, nearly sobbing when she felt Naruto's chakra respond to the brush of her own. It was like she was leaning against him, his warmth filling her and beating back the cold of the cell she was bound in. It was strong and warm, filling everyone around them, silently reminding them of the freedom they once shared.

Someday, they would have it back

…

He pulled on that warmth that was always in his belly, always keeping him warm and feeling as if there was always a hug just for him. He took that warmth and pushed it through the rock he leaned against, hoping the person on the other side would feel that same warmth and hug he always felt when he closed his eyes. But the warmth never stopped flowing and as he pushed it further and further, he felt other small flames bushing against his, soaking up the warmth and accepting the hug. He knew without a doubt that the other children accepting his silent hugs were just as afraid as he was and were searching for something familiar in this too cold new world.

" _Now don't wander Naruto," Iruka warned_

Would Iruka know that he was taken from that officer? Would he come looking for him? Would anyone look for them, all of them? Would Jiji come for them? Would that officer keep his word by coming after them?

Is anyone going to save them?

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	11. Chapter 11

**First Impressions**

Chapter 11: To Betray

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth or died leaving young children behind, this Yūrei (Demon) returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **This chapter has been hugely re-written, I hope this version explains more  
**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

She listened carefully as the man carrying her swept through the air like a leaf on the wind, dancing around trees and bushes; avoiding beams of light as if they were pools of magma. Soon enough though the light was gone and her world was plunged into darkness, she thought about attacking, about thrashing and screaming, but it would do her no good. If she is to find the boys her friend was so worried about, then she needed to be calm; it was the only way to find them… if she was taken to the same place. Now that she thought about it, being captured by the Shadow animals was properly not a good idea, especially since they were after her since the beginning. A new form of fear clogged her throat, making it squeeze and feel as if she couldn't breathe. What if the boys were taken by someone else and not the shadow animals? What if she let herself get caught by someone outside of the village Mamorigami-hime spoke of?

"Bear!" She held her breath at the sharp shout, her capture slid to a stop on what she could only assume to be a wall, "where is your team?"

"Gone," the man answered simply, his voice sounding strain and tight, as if he was wounded or out of breath but didn't want to show it.

"Is she the Hattori?" her capture seemed to nod at the question, she guessed he didn't want to wake her just yet, "get the suppressant seals on her _now,_ before you take her to Danzo-sama!" her stomach lurched as suddenly she was weightless and yet she was falling, a feeling of being spun or dropped into a bottomless void filled her and she reflexively clutched at the back of the agent carrying her. She felt the muscles in his back contort for a second before relaxing, as if he was dismissing the fact that her fingers tightened on his back to keep herself from falling away from him as they were transported through a seemingly endless void. Then the world stopped spinning, stopped moving and it was as if she was floating in an abyss, the feeling was strange and new; filling her with a fear that compelled her to relax her body and fall limp against the man's shoulder again. She felt her kidnapper slid across a stone floor before slamming her body down onto the cold unforgiving ice, he managed to only lock one arm down in place before she dared to thrash. She screamed and scratched, thrashing like a wild animal as he tried to pin her down on the ice sheet, someone else soon appeared, slapping freezing hands down onto her ankles and trying to pin them down. She yowled in pain, but her thrashing didn't stop, if anything her nails seemed to sharpen and she clawed out at the man trying to pin her down, drawing blood and spraying it everywhere. The man cursed and shouted other hands soon slammed down on her, she bit someone at one point and slammed a foot into someone's face, she felt and heard bones crack and snap, smelled the scent of copper and rust as it rained down on her from her restrainers. Soon though they were laying across her body, weighing her limbs down and pinning them in place before they could put the restraints in place and then amplified them with chakra so potent it burned her skin. Her restrainers backed away, panting and bleeding they regarded her like a wild animal that should be put down instead of chained down. She snarled at them, pulling against her restraints as they moved the ice sheet beneath her so that she could see the entire room, held up by the ice sheet gleaming silver like star light. The room she was in was white like snow, cold like ice and smelled like nothing and yet it burned her nose, like smell of poisonous plants or the venom from that one snake she came across the summer before last. She didn't know how to describe it, it was nothing like the place she grew up, damp and wet and warm, this place was cold and dry and made her nose burn from the lack of natural scents. Her restrainers all backed away, parting to allow one tall old man approach her, his cane thumping on the cold floor as his impossibly unremarkable face stared up at her.

"You are the Hattori survivor?" he asked her, she snarled and bucked in her restraints, earning curses from a few unseen men, her restraints flared brightly and she screamed in pain.

…

* * *

…

"Just ahead," Masaru whispered, "turn here! Left!" Kurenai impressed herself with the spin and jumping she performed to take the last second order, but she didn't stop running. She jumped and for a moment the image of a carnation flower stared up at her innocently, then she was skidding down the cold smooth surface of a rock wall till she stopped a dozen feet down. She looked around herself carefully, watching as several large herds of wild horses all skid down the stone walls; some stopping sooner than others. Iruka was on the other side of the whole, looking around with a frown on his face, almost as if he was annoyed with their new surroundings.

"They're here," Masaru whispered, "in the floors..." Kurenai looked at the floor before her and found herself staring into wide brown eyes, one of the stolen children was staring up at her in terror and hope.

"Shh, little one," Kurenai smiled, laying flat against the wall she hung on to put her fingers through the grate and brush the small boy's hair aside, "I'm here to help." A sob was her only answer, his knees collapsed and he held his face in his hands, in the cell beside him was a small blonde haired girl staring at her with weeping baby blues. Kurenai retracted her hand and carefully put her foot down on the wall separating the children, it was as if someone made a huge network of walls in the floor and then covered them with a massive steal grate. The grate was only a layer of steal strips braided together, with gaps as big as Kakashi's pug and as small as her wrist. Masaru jumped down and started walking on the tops of the walls, examining each cell she came across before moving on to the next one.

"There's hundreds of them," Kurenai whispered as she walked, "how long has he been preparing for this? Has the master mind been simply waiting for a chance to take all of our kids?" Masuru stopped walking to glance back at her, golden eyes strong and cold before she turned her nose into the air and let out a soft almost lullaby sounding howl. Kurenai stopped walking and listened, something in her made her feel as if someone wrapped a warm blanket around her. When the soft lullaby ended, there was a beat of silence then two soft yips answered her and then another two; Masaru sagged with relief.

"There is only one child in each cell, bound at their ankles too," Masaru told Kurenai, looking at the kunochi over her small shoulder, "I suggest taking one out and passing them off to a mare before moving on to the next cell."

"Alright," Kurenai whispered, as she started walking again, silently noticing the slight dip in the walks. Before she could ponder where the locks were or if she was supposed to move the metal threads, she heard a sharp screech accompanied by Masaru's sudden growl of warning. Kurenai snapped to attention, her eyes locking in on the source of the noise quickly. Towards the center of the walls and cells was a cloud of buzzing insects hovering agitatedly over a single cell, watching closely Kurenai saw a young child pull himself out of the cell he was trapped in and look around himself as if in a curious daze.

"Don't move!" Kurenai barked out imminently, rushing towards him as he snapped his head in her direction, "I'll be over there in a moment! Don't move!" the boy appeared to study her as she ran towards him with Masaru in toe but before she reached him, the young boy sent his insects out to cover the entire grate, their eating habits amplified with their newest source of food. Kurenai skidded to a stop in front of him, looking at the three other sealed children below them, worry filling her at the sight of the statue still children all curled together against a common wall. The young Aburame summoned his insects back to himself; carefully they coated the chains binding the three kids to their cells and chowed down on the chakra given to them. However his insects must've triggered a trap in Naruto's chain. The fox appeared far from the right and jumped into Sasuke's cell in time to avoid the chakra backlash. The explosion of pure, raw power forced the boy into Kurenai with enough energy to slam them onto the grate five cells down. The fox shook its head as if to get rid of excess water, looked at one scared Uchiha and jumped back up to the surface. Glancing at Kurenai, who was covering Shino protectively, it yipped once and sauntered over to examine Naruto's cell carefully. Kurenai didn't question the fox as she turned back to look at the source of the explosion, she still held Shino protectively even as she stood back up.

"Shino?" Kurenai and the boy both looked up, another boy with wild brown hair and crimson tattoos on his cheeks was staring at them from over the edge of his cell, the grate covering it was blown back just enough for him to squeeze through, a small white pup crouched low beside the boy's propped up arm growling warningly at them.

"Kiba," Shino greeted evenly, "she is an ally."

"I can see that!" Kiba barked, trying to look angry even though a look of relief shinned in his eyes, nearly bringing them to tears.

"You're crying," Shino observed calmly as the brunet pulled himself out of the cell and gingery picked up Akamaru

"No I'm not!" Kiba shouted, even though tears were rolling down his cheeks. The cuff on his left ankle was accompanied by three chain links, one was twisted and half chewed off, giving him just enough room to slip off one link but didn't bother with the others.

"Kiba? Kiba is that you?!" A voice in one of the cells towards the edge called loudly

"Hana?!" Kiba cried snapping around, bolting at the familiar sound of wolf pups barking cheerfully at him. Kurenai smiled fondly, watching the boy race off to where two wolf pups were jumping and yipping loudly beside a frantically waving tanned hand. The two pups must've followed the swarm of other animals, instead of going to their clan head. Setting Shino down beside her, Kurenai made her way over to the cell containing Naruto.

She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening as she stared down at the cell

…

"Iruka!" he couldn't help but to flinch at the echoing shout reverberating in his skull, "set up some traps so no one can surprise us!"

"I've already did!" Iruka replied, she smiled and turned to help Sasuke out of his cell before moving towards another kid struggling over the wall nearby. Iruka gave a heavy sigh, moving towards the nearest cell and watched as the insects bloomed around the edges and nearly ripped them apart. He was mildly surprised to have two cells on either side of him and one directly in front of him all open, but they weren't the only ones that opened. In the cell directly in front of him, was the familiar brown eyed little girl he knew as Ami, tears made clean tracks down her dark cheeks.

"S~sensei~i," Ami whimpered slowly pushing herself to her feet and regarding him wirily, a dozen insects flew away from her chain, revealing her freedom at the same time

"Oh Ami," Iruka whispered, laying down and holding his arms out, she wasted no time in slamming into him and letting him pull her out while she sobbed loudly. Feeling a soft touch on his shoulder, Iruka looked up to see another one of his students, a young hard headed boy named Taiki and on his other side stood little Sota, shaking like a leaf. Iruka took in a deep breath and pulled both boys into his arms, the three of them crowding together and crying in their different ways. Ami loudly, Taiki silently and Sota wasn't wailing like he used to; it was strange not hearing him cry as loudly as Ami was, he was the biggest crier in Iruka's class.

…

* * *

…

He stared at the wall of screens, like an endless sea of flickering images, depicting every hall and room of his base. It seemed that the forest animals had discovered several well hidden entrances and exits, using their small bodies to their advantage. It was as if someone called to all the underground rodents in the country and ordered them to destroy the earthen walls of the base or make newer larger holes for the bigger animals to traipse into and run a muck with his men. So far the animals have only made a mess in the court yard, cafeteria and showers, but those were only the places were the larger animals made appearances. His men have already started on capturing and restraining the small animals, now they only needed to know if any wolves or panthers were going to pay them a visit. A scream from one of the monitors farther to his right made him look at it in alarm, much his frustration he saw the image of bulls, horses and bucks all standing in rows, bull dozing his men like they were papier-mâché figures.

"Give the order to kill on sight," he ordered, seconds later the order was echoing through the halls, his men all turned back to the stampeding animals and began cutting them down mercilessly. However it appeared the animal bulldozers' didn't care and kept charging, clearing the way for felines and canines to enter in waves attacking anyone who dared to even look at the 'pray' animals. Then came in the birds, like a blockade of wings they charged with talons out, like well trained flying knifes the avian race removed masks and gouged out at any eyes left unprotected. Though the floors of his base were filling with corpses, his walls being painted in bright bloody red, and his men were appearing to win the fight, the animals had unlimited numbers and a driving force that seemed unstoppable. Too soon his men put up barricades and nets, wire traps littered the stone halls like spider silk, blocking the other end from sight behind the curtains and layers of wire traps. The sound of fast foot falls echoed in the hall, he turned to see one of his men slam the door open only to scream as a feline tackled him to the floor. He turned to regard the door fully, staring at the twitching tail of the big cat passively. Soon enough it sprayed the hall with his man's blood, deeming it useless to naw on him the animal got off him and moved slowly to enter the room. Somehow he was unsurprised to see the blood stained face of a lion stare back at him, its black mane stained and dripping with blood as if it dunked its head into a pool of red water.

"Lions aren't native here," one of his men murmured as he stepped forward, ignoring the furious snarl of the cat as he readied one hand before himself.

"Futon: Wind arrow," he blew out a breath of air that swirled and twisted before shooting off through the lion's forehead like a bottle rocket.

"Danzo-sama," one of the two men in the room started slowly, "if lions aren't native here, then why are they here?"

"We already knew that the creatures in the forbidden forest have unnatural intelligence," Danzo answered bluntly, "It's possible they manipulated other animals in the region to the kiyobi mist..."

"too what end sir?" The man asked, "the miasma kills everyone on sight. How could they—"

"The miasma kills only humans, its pretty useless against animals unless you want to put them into an unstoppable...rage," Danzo trailed off as the thought occurred to him. More then once his men depicted their target retreating on the back of an unusually large canine, at first they thought it was a pack of wolves but soon discovered that the canines were actually foxes. Upon discovering the unnatural growth of the normally five pound pups, his men did a closer inspection of all the animals in the forbidden forest. The animals at the very edge of the forest had slight color distortions but were otherwise were perfectly normal, it was the animals who were housed inside or near the Hattori compound that showed the most difference in appearance and intelligence; even the plants looked different. Some of his luckier men depicted they're findings to be like from another world, as if the closer they got to the compound the further back in time they went, like the forest was a bridge between this world and the prehistoric world, or maybe a world were man had yet to be created. If these men's observations were correct then the forbidden forest was developed by absorbing the Kiyobi's miasma and adapting to its malevolence and hatred, which in turn had an effect on the surrounding forest creatures. If these creatures then migrated out of the forest or traveled to new breeding grounds its possible they came in contact with other animals and formed bonds or alliances. Since that appeared to be the case it could also be that the animals simply called for aid from other animals or called back the ones who left... or they got into contact with a summoning world and asked for aid from them. That was the more reasonable assumption, the problem was that if they were being attacked by summonings the animals would be larger.

"Danzo-sama!" He walked out of the secure room and looked down the hall, "Bear brought the girl! She's in the infirmary room three!" The agent skidded half way down the hall before turning and running back the way he came from, Danzo was actually ahead of him by three feet. The agent threw bombs a few times, some explosive, some gaseous and some that just killed ones nose for about three months; still they ran through the halls, mercilessly slashing animals down without a single glance at them. Arriving at the infirmary Danzo ground his teeth together, performing his wind cyclone blade technique he quickly cleared the entrance of snarling creatures and jumped in just as the agent behind him finished the seals to cover the entrance with sharp jagged rocks.

"Report," Danzo barked out, expecting at least one of the present root agents to answer him but to his dismay he found that almost everyone present in the large bunker like section was knocked out in one way or another. Half of the men were choking on their own blood or bleeding internally, the other half were unconscious or struggling to remain conscious. There were only three medics he could see instantly and they were pushing themselves to the brink of chakra exhaustion trying to save the lives of his men. Grinding his teeth till he could hear them creek in protest, Danzo march through the main hall of the general observation of the infirmary and headed straight for the surgery rooms, more specifically the one with the giant three stationed right above the door. Upon entrance Danzo's ears were immanently assaulted with the sounds of a snarling, yowling animal, like a big canine or feline protesting being held down by a human. In the center of the room was Bear, struggling to hold down a frantically thrashing form, he hissed and snarled back at the child as they raked razor sharp nails against his limbs.

"Give her some more anesthetics!" The agent struggling to hold down the wild animal ordered desperately, "hurry! I can't hold her down!"

"Anymore and she'll die from over dose!" A medic responded as he quickly wrapped a bandage around his bleeding left forearm, "either hold tighter or hit a pressure point!"

"I tried that and she nearly slit your throat!" Bear snapped at him, growling as the girl snapped her jaws at him, as if she could lock her mouth around his throat, "pressure points don't work on the Hattori!"

"Well neither do meds!" The medic barked, he growled as he jumped forward and started to re-grapple with the thrashing, yowling girl who acted like an angry cat instead if an angry human kid. Danzo carefully maneuvered around the sterile room until he could get a good look at the thrashing animal-like child his man found; and then he couldn't peal his eyes away from her wild cherry blossom pink locks and furious blazing perfectly emerald colored flames she called eyes. There was no mistake in the girl's gender, nor any question of her inheritance or bloodlines, not even the question of her parents needed to be asked; he knew the answers just staring at the girl. The girl's wild locks maybe pink but her eyes, nose, mouth, her entire facial structure was a near perfect carbon copy of Mebuki Hattori's face. That little girl was Mebiki Hattori and Kizashi Haruno's only child, Sakura Haruno; the only one who survived the taint of two powerful bloodlines mixing together and submitting to the other and yet complimenting each other.

"Pin her legs!" Bear ordered

"I am!" The medic snapped, he coughed as a foot slammed into his jaw. "That's it! To hell with not hurting her!" Danzo perked at the snarl, he assumed they were being as rough with her as they were with the other children. Before Bear could question the medic, the girl sank her teeth into his arm, producing an ark of blood that sprayed all over her; giving her the appearance of a deranged demonic cat from the bowels of hell. The medic didn't reply before he grabbed a syringe and slammed into the barely restrained thigh of the young girl.

"Grab her wrists!" The medic snarled as ignored the glass shattering scream and ripped the needle back out. The girl thrashed with renewed vigor, it was actually difficult to tell if she was consciously aware of the needle piercing her skin or if she was just that derange in anger. Lifting onto the tips of his toes and laying his entire body across the girl's legs, the medic finally succeeded in stopping some of her thrashing; though it appeared he was going to suffer from fractured ribs.

"Easier said then done," Bear grunted, "Ow damn it! Quite biting me!" Danzo side stepped just in time to avoid the three panicked medics rushing in past him, so worried by the shouts from Bear and their comrade they didn't bother to say or glance at him. He watched passively as the little girl's fight was steadily lost by the group of adults working together to pin her down, after a few more last attempts at slashing throats and biting hands (nearly removing a finger on one man) the medics and Bear finally succeeded in pinning the pinkette to the autopsy table. The little girl screamed furiously, pulling against her restraints as a medic moved to adjust the table so that she was partially vertical, giving her a better view of the emergency surgery room. The girl's ratty pink hair draped into her eyes like curtains, barley containing the glare she gave the medics as she tried to twist and pull out of her restraints, snarling angrily as her emerald flame eyes darted from side to side, trying to look for an exit or an ally. Danzo stepped forward, allowing himself to enter the light that was stationed over the girl's slightly vertical steal bed, almost instantly her furious gaze landed on him.

"You're the Hattori Survivor?" Danzo asked, the girl howled and thrashed, threatening to snap her restraints as she struggled on the autopsy table, "seal her chakra!" Danzo barked and two of his men sat on the edge of the seal array they had painted onto the floor before they even retrieved the girl. The second the seal array was activated was the same moment the girl let out a deafening roar of pain, as if the only way to express her pain was through screaming till she broke glass; which she very nearly did. Integrate beautiful lines of purest black weaved over the girl's body, short sparks of electricity sparked off her body, as if something else was counteracting the chakra suppressant seal. One minute of pain filled screams, two minutes of desperation, three minutes of grinding teeth, five minutes of forcefully drained chakra, eight minutes of seemingly endless mind numbing pain…

Ten minutes… ten minutes passed and the room was nearly destroyed as the suppressant seals were finally put in place, the resulting explosion took the two determined medics placeing the seal and nearly destroyed the surgery room. When the dust cleared and the remaining occupants woke to the darkness of the room, they found the girl was slumped against the vertical operating table, her hair smoking at the ends and burns littering her skin where the forced seals were once painted. Danzo pulled himself out from under the pile of bodies, his men having taken the full force of the back lash and protected him as a result. His men were pretty banged up but it looked as if they would live, well, he hoped they would; it would be very annoying if they died. Sitting up, Danzo braced his hands behind himself and looked around the now destroyed room.

"Danzo-sama!" He didn't need to turn to know that it was an operative, most likely with a medic or two (hopefully). "wha-what happened here?!"

"Take the Hattori and get to the seal," Danzo ordered coldly, not bothering to answer the question, "quickly, before she wakes." His man hesitated before hurrying forward and all but ripping the girl off the table. Ignoring the leather restraints still smoldering and permanently scared with chakra suppressant seals still wrapped around the girl's wrists, ankles and waste, the agent flung her over his shoulder and hurried for the nearest exit.

"Medic-san, is there anyone who can lend him aid?" Danzo questioned, fighting to see through his blurring vision. He thought he heard the medic said there was one agent left, so even though his vision began to darken and his consciousness was fading, he gave the order for that remaining agent to accompany the previous one. He was unaware of the medic sighing heavily, pressing green glowing palms to the elder's bleeding side.

"Poor master, no ones left..." the middle aged man whispered softly

…

* * *

…

Rabbit panted heavily as he ran for everything he was worth, evading every animal he saw and running on the ceilings when he was given no other choice. He flipped over barriers, jumped through walls, danced across the battle grounds and weaved through hallways like a ghost. He wasted no time, no steps, no breaths on anyone or anything he didn't have to, his first and primary objective was to activate the seal and transform the children of the village into Hattori-Kiyobi-jinchuriki hybrids.

The girl he was carrying would undoubtedly die during the possess anyways

"Rabbit!" He leaped onto the ceiling just in time to avoid a leaping feline, the enraged creature snarled furiously at him as he ran across the roof only to drop behind the safety of a barricade. Just as he landed, two medics were on him, running glowing palms over his body hurriedly, deeming him unharmed one hurried away to another agent while one pressed a packet of food pills in his hand and then ran off to another wounded agent.

"Where are the commanders?" Rabbit asked as he readjusted his hold on the smoldering pinkette

"Commander Hawk ordered his captains to hold the grounds here," a white haired young boy answered as he slipped into a kneeling position before Rabbit. "His agents are securing the entrances and exits, his lieutenants are securing the main halls, and his four generals are battling the larger animals."

"...Whose at the seal area?" Rabbit asked as he took in a food pill and fought back the reaction to gag.

"Commander Eagle has assigned his men to take out the barrier protecting the children," the boy answered, "the rest are focusing on the more powerful animals and erecting barriers for our wounded to hide behind until Commander Sparrow's forces arrive to give treatment."

"What of Commander Owl?" Rabbit asked, "what did my commander order?"

"So, your Rabbit of South side," the agent turned to look at the captain crouching on the burrier over head. "Commander Owl wants you to report in as soon as possible." The white masked man tilted his head to the side, "Whose the brat?"

"My mission," Rabbit replied courtly, his eyes narrowing behind his porcelain mask, "please tell commander Owl I'll report once I've fulfilled Danzo-sama's orders." He didn't stick around to see how the captain would respond to his tone of voice, he knew he was supposed to speak to the other captains neutrally but that particular captain came from Hawk's ranks and he had a nasty habit of sending Owl's men to the infirmary. As Rabbit ran he sensed more then heard that the other captain give chase, he weaved through the wounded, ducking and jumping, sprinting as fast as he could out of the captain's range. He was nearing the edge of the wounded, the hall surrounded in darkness was drawing closer with each step but so was the man giving chase.

"To the south, the Rabbit runs," said a low and ominous voice, Rabbit barely had the time to jump to the side to avoid the white cloaked woman stepping out the darkened hall, bloody Katana in hand. "To the fields the Sparrow flies," Rabbit ran desperately away from the white masked woman, ignoring the sound of a skull crashing into the cement floor as he disappeared into the darkness of the hall, the woman's voice echoing after him like a promise from the grim reaper.

"The Tiger shouldn't attack the Avians"

Only Commander Sparrow ordered the bird masked agents around, to mess with her men was to taunt death

When Rabbit arrived at the hall containing the massive three denominational seal array, he found it was completely blocked full of rank-less Root agents. Rabbit maneuvered himself through the crowd of murmuring agents, ignoring their various heights denoting their younger ages. As he reached the front, he could hear arguing-no, shouting; he skidded to a stop just as a massive blast of wind erupted from the front of the crowd. Cursing he retreated several paces and hunkered down beside a group of other agents trying not to get blown away by the powerful hurricane force winds. He tucked the girl closer to the ground beneath him, hoping that his weight would be enough to keep her from flying away and possibly escaping from her fate. Suddenly the turret of enraged wind was a blaze with fire, smothering anyone who breathed and alighting anyone who dared to wonder too close. Thankfully though the hall was too small and the current too strong to keep the fire sustained and it quickly died.

"YURI!" An echoing scream of desperation filled the air, Rabbit didn't know who that was but the result was the wind died down. Rabbit poked his head up to see what the ruckus was but only saw a captain standing near the epic center, watching a young white robbed medic collapse to the cold stone floor. Rising to his feet, he carefully lifted the little girl into his arms and approached the captain staring down at the strange medic. As soon as he was close enough, Rabbit saw that the woman was in her early twenties or late teens with long auburn brown hair that stuck out of her medic cap in odd places, frizzing and sparking as if a lightning attack had been used on her.

"Captain," Rabbit called unsurely, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully on the purple stripe marring the young woman's bruised cheek, "your orders?"

"Continue our mission," the man ordered, clenching his mask in his right hand, "return the children to their cells." Rabbit nodded and watched as the agents flew past them like a black river, soon there were cries of surprise and fear from the deep pit a dozen or so meters from his current location.

"What are your orders?" The captain questioned, his voice dropping as if he was irritated with Rabbit for not following directions

"I am to place the Hattori survivor into the center cell," Rabbit answered bluntly, "however, I must wait until all children are safely back—"

"Go now," the captain ordered, turning to look at him with narrowed eyes, "the trespassers are here."

…

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are wonderful**

 **Helpful criticism is lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

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 **Page 10**


	12. Chapter 12

**First Impressions**

Chapter 12: To Defy

Koomahana

 **I did a massive re-write in the previous chapter, I also couldn't bring myself to delete any of what the students were facing and feeling, this all happened while Sakura was being restrained in the operation room, I should've have made it pretty obvious when Rabbit (the agent holing Sakura to the seal area) arrives  
**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

"I have to get the others," Iruka whispered, "Hold on tightly okay?" The boys let go, helping hold up Ami as they each nodded and stayed as close to him as they could while he patiently helped pull up child after child from their cells. Slowly they each started to help pull out other small children, smiling when other young Aburame began helping removing the grating over the cells, just enough for the children to get out. Eventually Shino had his insects focus on the chains and they eagerly went to work, sweeping from cell to cell faster than his older relatives could release the kids. Kurenai, however, was taking each child out of their cell and setting them on the back of whatever large animal was closest. Most were sent to the high floor at the edge of the cells just before the ten foot high wall surrounding them in a perfect circle; the kids would get off and send the animals back down to continue aiding Kurenai. On the platform, the children gathered in groups, the older ones taking roll call and keeping the younger children calm, some even formed teams of at least seven kids, one or two from each year. The young Hyūga's kept a close eye on everyone and welcoming the younger children with open arms, the Inuzuka helped release the kids of the remaining chains on their ankles.

The other older kids each played different roles, the kinder ones playing 'parent', the colder ones playing 'guard', the smarter ones playing 'leader', the frightened ones playing 'follower'. All in all, the older kids worked together to keep calm, they would typically rely on an adult but the only two they had were in the center, freeing the more dangerous bloodline carrying children, almost all of them were younger than eight. Neji Hyūga stood in the middle area between the clear circular path and the center where the red eyed kunochi was, his white eyes flaring and glowing brightly in the dim light of the hole. He wasn't sure if they knew it yet, but the child in the very center of the cages was surrounded by three other cells, one had Hinata, one had a young Uchiha boy and the other was empty, it did make him wonder why that last cell was empty. He wondered who it was for but then his attention was diverted as he felt Hinata get released from her own cell. Before he could make his way towards her, there was a shrill scream echoing through the massive hole containing the cells. Neji's eyes swept through the crowds of children, searching for the source of the scream. He was just about to dismiss the scream as one of the younger kids wailing because of a cut (again) but a feeling in the bottom of his stomach told him to search out beyond the cells. Beyond the circle surrounding the cells, beyond the wall surrounding them, there was a woman dressed in a field medic's uniform. She was surrounded in fire and was soon wrapped in wires glowing with lightning. She collapsed on the ground, her heart stuttering to a stop, and the agents she was stalling turned towards them, rushing the hole like the hounds of hell. Soon they were on the smooth ring around the cells, grabbing and shoving the kids into random cells as they passed.

"Fight back!" Neji ordered as he slid past two older kids and agilely slammed a hand into a shadow's chest just as he landed in front of them. The shadow coughed and fell to the ground, Neji moved on, knowing that he had a responsibility made him focus like he never has before. It wasn't long before the older kids were moving with him, creating traps and using the weak points in the cages to their advantage. The younger children huddled in groups, clinging to each other so their guards could fight without restraint.

All of them knew it was time to fight or die and none of them were going to die without a fight

…

Shikamaru did his best to trap any shadow he came across, Chōji would then knock them off the floor and straight into one of Iruka-sensei's traps. He noticed how most of the older kids tried to keep more serious wounds bandaged but they were unprepared and had resorted to using strips of cloth from the few downed shadows and a few of their own clothes. He also noticed that the majority of the older kids were doing almost all of the fighting, like all of the seventh and eighth year Uchiha were paired up with a Hyūga. All the Inuzuka were pared up with the Aburame and a support fighter. Almost the entirety of the seventh and eighth years were doing all the fighting, everyone else was support, medical help or the little kids younger then him. His classmates were seen as the last defense for the first and second years (all six or seven years old). Those who weren't pared up went from team to team giving last minuet support before moving on again. They all tried to manipulate the masked men into the traps Iruka-sensei set up and warned them about but some of them were flipping out of the trap's reach at the last moment.

"We can't keep this up," Shikamaru panted, rubbing his wrist against his jaw, dark rings slowly growing beneath his eyes; a common sign of nearing chakra exhaustion in his clan. The small black fox that was with him jumped onto his bent leg before keeping onto his shoulder, rubbing its head against his cheek as if to remind him of its presence.

"Perhaps you should rest," Chōji said as he rubbed at his sore wrist, his brown furred companion popped out of the pocket on his chest and yipped in agreement, "we all need to switch out with someone..."

"Look out!" They turned just in time to see a shadow reach for them with glowing finger tips, but he stopped suddenly, blood splattered against their faces, their eyes widening at the three prongs of metal sticking out of the man's chest. The man collapsed, reveling Ami, one hand out stretched and eyes wide in terror. At her feet was a large gap were three pieces of woven metal were forced out and into the man.

"Ami," Shikamaru whispered, that seemed to be all she needed. Ami feinted in Sota's and Taita's arms, slumping against them like a sack of potatoes.

…

Shino watched passively as one of the shadows flew across the grate like a piece of shrapnel, ignoring everyone as he went straight for the middle; stopping only in front of him with a great cloud of familiar insects surrounding him. Hinata huddled close behind him, Kurenai gritted her teeth as she stood protectively in front of them, fury made her crimson eyes glow almost as brightly as the Sharingan. Taking in a deep breath to steady his nerves, Shino stepped forward until he was standing beside the kunochi, barely even a hairs breath behind her.

"Your loyalty is to my father," Shino said as calmly as he could, "to betray the village is to betray his trust. All traitors are sentenced to death, you know this. So why do you threaten me?"

"My mission is to get you back to your cell," his cousin answered, "from there, in one week's time, I will begin your training."

"Father is teaching me," Shino replied calmly

"I will teach you what he cannot," his cousin replied, "there is more to our clan then just insects. They are our greatest weapon but you don't have to rely completely on them. There are other things you can learn as well."

"Like how to betray those who trust me?" Shino asked, his insects floated out of his coat like bubbles of gas, "I will inform father of your betrayal. You will not be forgiven."

"Fighting me will get you nowhere but your cell," his cousin replied, "be a good boy and return voluntarily."

"I will not obey a traitor," Shino replied, suddenly his small gas bubbles of kikaichu bloomed into great clouds and a fight between insects commenced. Kurenai fought beside the young bug trainer, her image flitting between the clouds of insects, her weapons appearing and disappearing.

She'll die before she lets anyone harm these children

…

Hinata tried to keep her breathing even as she watched Shino and the woman fight seamlessly. Kiba was at the edge of the ring, helping protect the younger kids while his sister took out anyone who threatened them. Kiba hadn't been taught much of his family's fighting style and Akamaru was barely old enough to leave his mother. They didn't know how to fight together and they certainly didn't know any jutsu. However, _she_ could fight, she did know some of her family's techniques, she could help... But her hands were trembling and her Byakugan was pulsating, as if she couldn't sustain it but she was forcing it to remain active.

"I'm going to help them," Hinata whispered to herself, fisting her hands, her eyes drifted to the left, where the last glowing wall remained, Naruto was still sleeping against that wall, as if he was waiting for someone to wake him for the day. If she was going to help she would need to free the last kid still bound, in order to do that she would have to forgo the fight and focus entirely on the chain trapping her crush. Shino's bugs were useless against the chain and Hyūga's specialized in chakra manipulation, perhaps she could do what Shino failed at. Her eyes pulsated and she barely managed to avoid the ball and chain that scrapped past her right arm, cutting it deeply and brining tears to her eyes.

"Hinata-sama!" She watched as two of her relatives slid to a stop in front of her but what really grabbed her attention was the man standing three cells down from them, his damaged mask revealed one pulsing white eye; nearly screaming his identity.

"Traitor!" Her cousin screamed shrilly, as the other pressed a clean cloth to Hinata's cut arm, "how dare you harm Hinata-sama!"

"Her training is inadequate," he replied dully, "Hiashi has allowed to let her emotions control her. If I can remove that from her training, she can be a truly powerful kunochi someday." Hinata gasped in horror, he planned to take away everything that she was, replace her with someone who _wasn't her._ If he planned to do that to her, then... Her eyes widened and she turned towards Naruto, the mere thought of never seeing his smile again scared her more than the thought of losing who she was. Naruto was her light, he was the reason she didn't quite the academy, the reason she smiled whenever she saw the sun. He was her everything, the reason she exists.

"No... No, no," Hinata whispered frantically, "no, no, no!" Her cousins turned, their eyes widening as they stared at her, "don't touch him! I won't let you!" Unknown to Hinata, her eyes were glowing a bright pristine white, glowing like pure star light. Hinata shakily stood in her clan's battle stance, defensive of course, and glared at her traitorous cousin with her eerie-teary white eyes.

"I see," the agent whispered, sliding into a battle stance. The two teens hissed and stood back to back in front of Hinata, making her address them for the first time since their arrival.

"Hinata-sama you must free Naruto-san," the older female beside her ordered, her purl blue eyes pulsing in anger, "whatever these traitors think they're going to do relies heavily on him. You must free him and run as far as possible—don't look back!" Hinata gave a startled shout as she was suddenly flying across the grates, her male relative appeared and parted the metal over Naruto's cell, caught her and then mercilessly stuffed her inside. Then spun around in time to defend himself against a few poisoned kunai before they could hit either of them; at their previous location was the Hyuga traitor standing as if he wasn't hurt.

"You're reckless," the elder Aburame drawled as he appeared beside his partner, the female Hyūga floating beside him, head bowed in unconsciousness.

"Kaname!" Hinata's cousin shouted in panic, however, before he could act the red eyed kunochi burst past him and disappeared right in front of him then Shino ran right past him, his insects swarming around the Hyūga traitor like hornets. The kunochi appeared in the swarm of bugs and grabbed the teen girl before disappearing and reappearing beside her safer relative. As painful as the process was, Kurenai was glad the young Hyuga started to kill the insects harming her before they killed her. Hinata felt helpless and weak as she watched her cousins fight against the agents who threatened them. She felt a little better when the red eyed woman jumped into the insect swarm and returned to the grate above Naruto, with Kaname in hand but her cousin looked like a tiny porcelain doll, curled up as if she was in pain but showed nothing on her too pale face. Taking in a deep breath, Hinata turned to look over at Naruto and hurried forward, hands raised and ready to destroy the glowing chains. Her fingers barely touched it when a powerful electric shock blew her back, forcing her knees to give put and making her collapse on the cold stone floor. Hinata coughed hoarsely before scrambling onto her hands and knees, desperate to check Naruto's vitals with her Byakugan. Finding nothing wrong with his organs and limbs, she turned her attention to the chain around Naruto's leg, glaring at the small inscriptions wrapping around the metal. Suddenly she realized that the inscriptions were similar to the old rune stones her grandmother gave her when she was three, they were supposed to hide her signature from sensors but they never seemed to work against her own family. After making the observation clear to her grandmother, the old woman informed her that it was a very old seal technique that was passed down in their family, the ancient seals were remnant from the Uzumaki-Hyuga alliance from the era before the great warring states. The seals were practically useless against Hyugas because they can see the the flow of chakra, that's why the few seals that the Hyuga clan dose know are next to impossible for anyone but an Uzumaki to counter. Hinata made a thoughtful sound and hovered her hands over the chain, with chakra coated finger tips she sent careful bursts of power at places on the chain only she could see.

She could save him, she could have a use, she could protect the village secret

...

Hearing a shout, Kiba looked up curiously, his eyes widening as he saw a an agent slip past the group of children, and before he could blink he was waking up against a wall, wondering what happened. Through blurry eyes, Kiba could see Akamaru laying in his lap and his sister struggling in the hold off a shadow before screaming as he threw her into the wall beside Kiba, making sure to use enough force to crack the stone. A little further away from him was one of the little kids they were trying to protect laying on the stone floor, one bare foot just inches away from his own. The little boy wore a tattered too small pale green yukata, in fact, his hair was almost the same shade of teal green as his dirty yukata; bright leafy greener, was that even a natural hair color? Akamaru yelped fearfully in his lap, making Kiba look towards the agent sleepily; the man bent forward and grabbed Hana up by her hair, ignoring her screaming and scratching, he threw her into the air then kicked her ninken towards her mercilessly. Hana never landed as the strips of metal that once concealed the top of the cells suddenly glowed bright bloody red and wrapped around Hana like snakes.

"Hana!" Kiba screamed he tried to move to cover the little boy in his group, but it seemed useless as gravity was taken away from them, the steal strips moved as if they were alive and twisted around Kiba, lifting him high into the air. From his new height Kiba could see that all the children were being grabbed and thrust into the air over the cells, only to be grabbed by the steal strips and restrained at certain nights over the cells; as if they were making the roots of an ancient tree. The kids still on the circular platform were grabbed and thrown carelessly towards the living strips of metal, the kids who were still in their cells were ripped out of them by the strips of metal. Kiba growled and twisted in his restraints, searching for someone who wasn't restrained by the living metal, his eyes landed on the still battling group in the center. He could see that the crimson eyed woman and Shino were fighting almost perfectly against the strips, even though their two Hyuga friends were fought together.

"Shino! A little help here!" Kiba shouted, wiggling around in his restraints, his friend looked up at him and gave a nearly imperceptible nod as he returned to misdirecting the metal strips. At first Kiba wanted to scream at his friend for abandoning him but then the strip of steal holing him up wiggled and soon enough he was falling towards the cells. As he fell, trying not to screw lime a little girl, he saw that Hinata was standing her ground and fought back against the steal strips, using her family's style to protect herself from the grasping metal, going so far as creating a protective burrier around the cell. Once that was done, Hinata collapsed to her knees, cradling her bloody hands to her chest, and trying her best not to cry about the pain. Looking around himself, Kiba saw that the strips of metal had captured all of the kids and was holding them at various heights over their original cells, only himself seemed to be sitting at the lowest altitude and there for was the closest to Hinata. Suddenly, Kiba's attention was drawn towards a startled shout and he looked just in time to find himself being caught be the red eyed kunochi, as they fell back to the surface they passed a knocked out Sasuke and it took everything Kiba had not to throw up at the blood coating the side of his head, crusting one eye and rolling over his bruised right cheek.

"Help Hinata!" The kunochi ordered when they landed and went head first into the fight against the stripes of living steal. Kiba didn't respond as he looked around himself fearfully, not sure of what to do or how he was supposed to help his classmate. Whipping at the blood on his cheek, Kiba noticed that the very edges of the cell network on the large platform, there were dozens of anbu agents all crouching in a single file line, holding hand signs Kiba didn't recognize. To the far east side of himself he could see his sister, Hana, struggling in the strips of metal, her three wolf pups dangling just below her legs where they got caught.

"No!" The panicked and fearful shout made Kiba turn in time to watch Kurenai grab Shino and throw him behind herself protectively, they both watched as the metal shed the kikaichu like sand on glass and wrapped around their Kunochi guard. Kiba grabbed Shino and pulled him back from the grasping ends of the metal, their backs thumping against the metal dome protecting Hinata and Naruto.

"No," Shino whimpered, his hands fisting at his sides as he watched hundreds of thousands of insects fall from the metal strips, turning to dust long before they land. It was then that Kiba realized that none of the Aburame were effective against the strips of metal anymore; their bugs were falling down as corpses, making their owners scream in fury at the loss of their most precious companion.

"Look out!" Kuba and Shino didn't move in time and before they knew it they were wrapped in metal strips, held together at the same height, right beside a familiar Uchiha.

"Idiots," Sasuke huffed at them, "you should've ran when you had the chance."

"And just how do you expect us to get passed the shadow people?!" Kiba roared at him

"They're not shadow people idiot! They're Anbu agents!" Sasuke snapped at him, "don't you even know the shinobi ranking in your own village?!"

"Shut up!" Kiba shouted

...

* * *

...

"Rabbit, go now," the captain ordered, turning to look at him with narrowed eyes, "the trespassers are here." Rabbit didn't question him, he ran past and jumped over the edge, spinning around just in time to block several kunai and disappeared over the edge, staring at four well known shinobi. Landing inside the pit, Rabbit instructed the closest team to help the captain while he set up a telepathy connection with the remaining agents. Squatting on the edge of the the platform around the cells, Rabbit formed one hand sign and kept a tight hold on the still knocked out pinkette with his other hand; from there it was almost painfully easy to connect with the Root agents and instruct them with various tasks. Some agents left the field to protect him, others left to take their given placements around the cells, the rest remained united in manipulating the children back into their previous places. Once the released children where they were supposed to be, Rabbit instructed the agents to shushin out of the area while the others activated the seals inscribed on the strips of metal covering the cells. There were many screams and shouts as the metal strips glowed a haunting orange and suddenly started moving like sleepy snakes, wrapping around the nearest child before lifting them high into the air, contorting and twisting like the gnarled branches of an ancient tree.

They were unbelievably lucky that only a quarter of the children were released

 _That was by far too close_ , Rabbit thought as he broke the connection with the agents, sighing in relief, Rabbit glanced down at the child curled against his leg. If any more children were released and they had all decided to fight back, then they might not have been able to get them back in their cells before the girl woke up and created her own mess of problems.

"Rabbit-san, what now?" He looked up at the soft spoken voice, blinking lazily at the paint less mask of the young boy, he must've been one of the rank-less agents and a back up at that. The boy must've been instructed to help gather the children because of his night and similar age to their targets, the children would've been so focused on the taller agents that they missed the one child soldier amongst them.

"Now you protect the sealers," Rabbit ordered, lifting the little girl from the ground and tossing her over his shoulder, "don't let anything happen to them." Rabbit stepped out onto the wall of a cell, following its gentle curve towards the center. As he neared the cell containing the Kiyobi jinchuriki, Rabbit noticed that the steal strips weren't rising into the air like they should've been, instead they were twisted and knotted together, forming an almost perfect dome over the cell. Frowning, Rabbit hurried forward to get a better look, only to grit his teeth in irritation as he saw one small Hyūga inside center cell, panting heavily with bloody hands cradled to her chest delicately. A simple, sharp, mental command to another agent at the end had the man weaving through hand signs too fast to see, and before the white eyed little girl knew it, her shield was gone and Rabbit was digging his fingers into her short midnight locks.

"Wrong move," Rabbit hissed at the little girl before stepping back and throwing her at the far wall of the cell. The little Hyūga gasped and coughed from where she indented the cement cell wall, her vision swimming as her head lolled to the side and she found herself staring at a ragged little girl with bright pink hair. The other little girl wore a tattered too small pale pink yukata, in fact, her hair was almost the same shade of pink as her old yukata; bright cherry blossom pink, was that even a natural hair color?

"Hinata!" She looked up sleepily at the red eyed woman who tried to take the brunt of the attack from the metal strips but only ended up captured with Shino and Kiba at her back. "Hinata you have to free Naruto! If you don't he'll die!" The woman screamed, struggling in her restraints, making beeds of blood swell on her arms and waist, "you're the only one who can save him now!" Looking around herself, Hinata saw that the strips of metal had captured all of the kids, even those who weren't yet freed and was holding all of them at various heights over their cells. The red eyed woman tried her best to protect the kids around herself but she only got caught so she tried to make herself take the brunt of whatever attack was coming. On the very edges of the cell network, there were dozens of Anbu agents all crouching in a single file line on the large circular stone platform. Even from her distance, Hinata could see Hana, Kiba's elder sister; she was struggling in the strips of metal, her three wolf pups dangling just below her legs where they got caught too. None of the Aburame children seemed effective against the strips of metal anymore; their bugs were falling down into the cells as corpses, making their owners scream in fury at the loss of their most precious companion.

"Rabbit!" A voice from the edge drew Hinata's wavering attention, "Use her as the transference!" one of the Anbu agents ordered, standing at the northern most point of the circle, apparently not taking part in whatever was happening. "The Hattori must be the link! Without her adaption bloodline none of the children will survive the transference of the Kiyobi's power! She must be the one to filter the Kiyobi's power to all of them! It's the only way!"

 _Hattori?_ Hinata thought, something in her chest dropping to the tips of her toes. She remembered the small head stone her father visited, sometimes he allowed her to sit beside him as he stared at the names carved there. She had always been too scared to ask him who they were but she did remember that the names were accompanied by 'Hattori'. She even remembered doing a bit of research on the names and even asked her teachers about the names, they all said the same thing. The Hattori clan is scattered across the map as dozens of different little tribes or traveling merchants, each branch or fraction specializing in a single talent or ability. However, there was a branch family that was permanently stationed in the hidden leaf, out of all the fractions and tribes, they were the most powerful. They carried a special mutation in their DNA that wasn't harbored in any of their other clansman, this mutation gave this particular branch the ability to adapt and overcome any situation that headed their way. In other words, their bodies physically adjusted, contorted, or mutated for the sake of survival. Their various and unique adaptions made them unpredictable in battle and nearly impossible to kill in assassinations, the worst part was that each clan member was stubbornly unique; not one of them holding the same ability as another, not even siblings or descendants.

They were regarded like beloved gods and feared like the cruelest of demons

However their seemingly blessed mutated genes became a curse eight years ago when the Kiyobi attacked; all three hundred plus died over the span of a single week because of their 'special' mutated genes. So that left the question of how did they find a Hattori who survived the wrath of the Kiyobi's poisonous miasma?

Now that she thought about it, just how was she was supposed to save them?!

...

* * *

...

"Rabbit! Use her as the transference!" one of the Anbu agents ordered loudly, interrupting the woman. Looking down, the three boys and kunochi saw a wounded Anbu agent standing in the cell containing a sleeping Naruto and a knocked out Hinata. "She must be the link! Without her adaption bloodline none of the children will survive the transference of the Kiyobi's power! She must be the one to filter the Kiyobi's power to all of them! It's the only way!" The red eyed woman gasped, her eyes widening in horror, understanding filling her like a mountain landed atop her instead of three children. The kunochi wasn't the only one who understood, all of the kids did, even those as young as Kiba and Sasuke understood what the Kiyobi was and what transference was supposed to be. Their lessons in the academy seemed to have lied to them and none of them were foolish enough to belief that the agents were lying. They were going to take the power of the demon who destroyed over half of their forces and village and filter its power through them, sealing it into them at the same time. The power of the girl 'Rabbit' had brought was supposed to be the key that would help them survive the ordeal, they had been taught about the Hattori's and their 'bloodline' and knew that they all had been killed by the Kiyobi's power because they _couldn't_ adapt. But if one did and they took the blood of that one survivor and injected it into someone then sealed the great Kiyobi's power into them, then someone even as old as Hana or the red eyed Kunochi could survive the dark power of the demon. It would also make them mini-demons, the spawns of the Kiyobi, the monster that still frightened their parents to this day.

"Let her go!" Hana suddenly, startling the children closest to her, "she's the last of her clan!" Her voice echoed, earning herself the stares of the other kids, "she's the only one left! Let her go— _Ahhh_!" She screamed as the steal holding her lit up in white hot sparks before returning back to the cold black color of steel. She wanted to shout some more, to scream at them to release the little girl but the world started to darken and she whispered a little but then everything was dark again. Kiba stared wide-eyed at his sister, watching her head reel back, her eyes closed and her mouth partially opened to let a trickle of blood drip past. Her three triplet wolf pups whined and whimpered in their restraints, nudging her hand and leg fearfully with their noses.

"Hana!" Kiba shouted, tears springing to his eyes, drawing attention to his elder sister, "Hana! Wake up!" Others of his clan started struggling, their canines thrashing and snarling. Suddenly the triplets ceased whining and whimpering, their silence echoed in Kiba's mind, lasting for eternity.

"HANA!" His scream was matched only by the sorrowful howling of her triplet wolfs

…

* * *

…

 **So the last part was added on because Hinata went on a little mental tangent and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, plus I had to explan a few things, I hoped the two scenes cleared up any confusion. Can you imagine the terror Danzo could create with an army of mini Kiyobi Jinchuriki's that happen to have a bit of the Hattori clan blood in them? Just the thought gives me the chills and I'm the author!**

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	13. Chapter 13

**First Impressions**

Chapter 13: To sacrifice

Koomahana

 **Do you know how much time its taking me to re-write this story? I'm starting to get a headache, I had four chapters ready to be posted when I posted chapter 11, but then I was told it was confusing so I re-wrote it and then I realized that the other chapters are mess and now I'm re-writing those!**

 **My head hearts… ~.~; I wanna cry**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

The Rabbit masked man didn't look up at the howling of the Inuzuka as he grabbed hold of the pink haired little girl at Hinata's feet and started to drag her towards Naruto. Sasuke stared past the crimson eyed kunochi beside him, his heart filling with terror as he stared at the tiny pinkette, she was knocked out with strange looking shackles on her wrists and ankles, but what caught his attention the most was that she appeared to be younger than him, at least five or six. Each of the bound children over the main cell reacted differently, some were angry and tried to thrash in their restraints and some were scared to the point they were crying hysterically, crying out for their parents (or in Kiba's case, an elder sibling). Looking at the two boys beside him, Sasuke saw that Kiba was thrashing in his restraints in blind panic, Shino was trying to reconnect with his insects, hoping that were still alive to help him out this time; however, Sasuke knew that it didn't matter what any of them did, none of the children could get free from the tight hold of the seal encased metal strips.

"Be still boys," the woman murmured to them, stilling Kiba's frantic thrashing and Shino's silent crying, "I won't let anything happen to you, I made an oath and I will not break it." She pulled back slightly, letting them see the her bruised face with the light dusting of pink to her cheeks, her warm crimson eyes glowing in the light of their restraints. "Besides I have a date to get too," it was as if she was trying to lighten the mood, trying to get them to laugh or relax, maybe even believe in her. Before the boys could respond, a scream sounded and the little group turned to see that there were still three children who hadn't been caught by the agents, and their only protection was a panting, bleeding academy instructor they knew as Iruka Umino.

"Look out!" Kiba and Sasuke screamed together, their eyes widening as the remaining unoccupied Agent attacked Iruka, lashing out at the chunin like a whip. Iruka coughed and struggled to remain standing protectively in front of the three children, blood dripping from one arm as he struggled to continue fighting for the sake of his students. Kiba was scared, he's never seen his teacher hurt before, he's never seen him look so angry either. Not sure what to do Kiba looked at the red eyed kunochi he was laying on, his heart beating harder in his chest as he stared at the the regretful face of the kunochi. Sighing heavily, the woman readjusted herself to look down below them at Naruto and Hinata, she could see that the agent below was too preoccupied with tying something around the pink haired girl to notice that Hinata was struggling to her push herself up again.

 _Naruto_ , Hinata thought, tears filling her porcelain white eyes. _Naruto_ _..._ _wake_ _up_ _,_ her body was trembling like a leaf as she tried to push herself up with all of her weight on her bloody hands, but their small frail countenance couldn't sustain the full weight of her body and all too soon, her arms gave out, leaving the young heiress weeping against the cold floor of the cell.

"Alright little pest," Rabbit said, grabbing the pink haired little girl and throwing her beside the knocked out blonde, using a rope to bind her and Naruto together, "Time to make yourself useful." The man crouched and wove through a long string of hand signs, Hinata's eyes activated and to her growing horror, she found Iruka was laying on the border surrounding the cells, one hand out stretched to Naruto, unmoving with blood dripping off his fingers to pool in corner cell at the edge. The three children he was protecting were wrapped in a metal strips, their arms held tightly to their sides, the strip of metal must not have been very strong because it was bent heavily with their weight and moving slowly away from the platform as if it was a sluggish creature on its last legs of life. Hinata never saw a corpse before and she certainly didn't want her first corps to be that of her favorite teacher, and all because she didn't get out of the way fast enough. High over the center of the cells she could see the smooth dark hair of her cousins, one of which was Neji, her favorite cousin despite his constant show of hatred towards her.

 _Right then,_ Hinata thought to herself, _I can't give up now. Sensei is dying and Neji-nii-san is still struggling in the restraints._ Suddenly the walls of all the cells shuttered and collapsed like dominoes, revealing herself, Naruto and a too small little girl she knew as the Hattori survivor.

 _They haven't given up, I won't give up either_

Hinata didn't get to push herself up all the way before a furious roar echoed through the air, her pulsing Byakugan revealed the charging angry army of animals; all pouring over the edge where the two chunin previously appeared from. The large carnivorous animals charged straight for the kneeling defenseless Anbu agents, they were only countered by the more mobile smaller agents with the paint less masks. The children didn't know to be afraid because of the animals appearing out of nowhere or to cheer in delight because those animals appeared to be protecting them. Suddenly a panther jumped out of the darkness of a corner on the platform, his pearly white teeth sank into the shoulder and neck of a kneeling agent, the cat was so focused on its target that it didn't even flinch when a smaller agent tried to protect the man by drawing his tanto across the creature's side, letting it's blood rain across himself and his partner. With the kneeling agent's death, three metal strips loosened and a group of kids were released, while two were able to grab hold of other children before they reached the bottom one was a small child that was inexperienced in grabbing things while falling. Hinata was about to turn and try to rescue the child but stopped as a large canine appeared beneath the falling child and caught her easily, almost before the child could notice that she was no longer falling to her death, the large animal jumped out of the circular retention and was sprinting towards the wall were the two chunin first appeared from. After that it was as if a silent command reached all the animals, they each paired up and attacked, some distracting the smaller Anbu agents and others snapping their jaws or slamming their horns onto the kneeling agents holding up the children. With the fall of each kneeling agent, a child in the metal restraints was released, leaving them to either catch hold of another still caught child or they were caught by the seemingly fearless gigantic Foxes that appeared inside the circular cage of cells. The Anbu agent before Hinata looked up at the metal tree containing children, then looked at the jumping, leaping canines who eagerly caught a freed child only to take them to the edge of the platform where they could escape to higher ground.

"Ch, what a nuisance," he quickly slammed his hands together to form blurring hand signs and then slapped them onto the ground. The animals screamed shrilly as a seal beneath Naruto was activated, forcing Naruto and the pink haired girl to float several feet in the air, keeping them within touching distance because of the red rope tied around their waists. The large foxes who were in the cell pit when the seal activated screamed shrilly, their bodies turning to ash almost instantly, the few children they saved but not carried all the way to the safety zone were all caught in the blinding glow of the metal strips, returning the struggling children back to their previous places. Hinata panted heavily as she pushed herself onto her hunches, cradling her still bleeding hands to her chest protectively, her sight doubling as she watched in fascination and alarm as a bright almost neon orange goo started to crawl out of Naruto's belly. At first it didn't look harmful at all, but then she saw what the goo was doing to Naruto's skin and she paled as his skin slowly flaked away revealing bright red flesh beneath, as if it were acid eating away at him, slowly crawling around his body until every inch was covered.

Then it started to crawl up the rope, towards the little girl hovering above Naruto

 _No,_ Hinata thought, frozen in place, watching the girl groan when it touched her back lightly, as if probing the strange new surface. Then it started to push against her back, making the girl's breathing increase and her face scrunch up in discomfort, then it was wrapping around her sides and suddenly the little girl's eyes were snapping open and a shriek of unequalled volume tore itself from her throat. The man ground his teeth together, as if he was having a hard time keeping his technique going, his head bowed and his shoulders shook. Just as the last of the malevolent orange goo wrapped around the girl, burning sections of her old Yukata and started to eat away at her translucent skin, drawing blood the color of deepest, darkest crimson highlighted by the soft emerald glow of chakra. When the orange goo mixed with the blood and chakra of the pinkette, a metal strip unwrapped itself from the group of four high over head and dangled itself over the girl's body. When the newly colored coral mass refused to make the stretch onto it, the metal pulled back slightly and then thrust itself straight through the girl's side, cutting off her screaming with a cough that splattered her face red with her own blood. Hinata watched through the power of her bloodline as every abnormally large fox on the platform howled furiously, gathering together to form a kind of wall, each canine glowed a bright calming green before charging through the mass of Anbu agents. Every one of the foxes that burst past the protective guard of the young agents and entered the bloody glow of the cell-pit turned to dust instantaneous, it was as if they were committing a mass volunteer-Suicide by entering the cell-pit. A fresh wave of tears started to roll down the Hyūga heiress's face and just as she was beginning to feel as if she couldn't watch anymore, she saw the smallest fox in the army of foxes burst forward into the bloody light of the metal strips, her entire body covered in emerald flames. The army of suicide foxes all fell short as that one small kit dashed across the broken walls of the once-cells, together, as if reading each other's minds, the foxes went back-to-back and started to bite and slash at the agents threatening them. It took Hinata only a moment to realize that the remaining foxes were keeping a section of the platform Anbu free, a safe haven for whoever the fox brought back. Even as the almost average sized fox darted towards her, Hinata could see that the crimson light of the seals inscribed on the metal strips were having an effect, lines of blood started to appear on her golden coat, staining her crimson even in her protective emerald glowing flames...

 _Wait,_ Hinata straightened against the pile of rock that was once a wall, her attention focusing on the racing, jumping creature, her eyes widening as realization dawned on her. The emerald flames surrounding the fox were a protective shield against the red glowing seals; it was also pure chakra, a level of purity that was almost blinding to her Byakugan eyes. Hinata watched in fascination as the fox jumped and with a startling loud cry of ferocity it aimed its gleaming fangs and sharpened claws towards the Rabbit masked man. Before the golden colored creature could reach him, a net of electrified wires appeared in place of the stone walls and pushed against her, preventing the angry kitsune from reaching the agent in side.

"Save her!" Hinata jumped at the shout, her eyes widening as she stared at the glowing fox that first appeared with the red eyed kunochi. Only the fox didn't look so perfect and pristine anymore, her body was littered with scratches and she was holding her left leg off the ground as if she was afraid to put weight on it, even her tail was dragging behind her like a shredded piece of flesh still bleeding.

"Push the man into the light," the fox ordered, laying on a broken wall with a heavy thump, blood soaking through one eye and the cut on her nose staining her mussel like it was dipped in paint. "Make sure he lands beneath Naruto-sama... and the seal on the ground," she panted, her body quaking as she carefully laid down on her less wounded side, her one golden eye stared at her like a steal wall.

"You're hurt," Hinata sniffed, her Byakugan revealed to her the extensive damage deep inside the wounded animal, the detrition of her organs and fresh waves of new cuts on her coat appearing every second, as if the crimson light of the metal stripes were slowly draining the creature's life force.

"Don't worry about me girl," the fox hissed, "save Naruto… save your friends…" Hinata blushed even as she turned to looked back at Naruto, her eyes widening as she saw that the orange goo that surrounded him and the tiny pink haired girl was using the strip of metal in the girls side lime a latter and was crawling slowly ip to the red eyed kunochi. The woman's fearful expression hammered home just how dangerous the orange goo was, and Hinata realized too late that if she didn't do something now, then the orange goo would consume the woman and the three boys in her arms, then it would sprout off to the other metal strips and consume the other children.

"Hurry," the once pretty golden fox whispered, her emerald sheild of flames shrinking around her as she slowly put her head down, eyes fighting to close, "hurry…" Hinata looked back at the fox, her white glowing eyes showing her that the fox was suffering from internal bleeding, meaning that the creature was beyond saving. Hinata turned back around at the sound of a painful gasp, her attention was immanently on Naruto, staring as his face scrunched in pain and blood started to dribble down the edge of his mouth. Hinata watched as the blood and toxic chakra mixture crawled up the metal strips, nearing the kunochi, after her the goo would hit Kiba, Shino and Sasuke. After them the goo would separate onto several different metal stripes, wrapping around Hinata's two elder cousins before reaching Neji, then it would reach a few of her other classmates; Shikamaru with his frantic shadows slashing at his restraints, Choji with his body expansion failing him for the first time, Ami was held between Sota and Taika both blind with panic, the twins Kaname and Kaito were reaching out together with only a breath of air between their fingertips.

 _This... this has to stop,_ Hinata thought, her bloody and burnt hands clenching against her chest to draw more blood. _No matter what, I can't let that goo touch them!_ She didn't know what the orange goo was or why it was forcefully pulling out the strange girl's blood and chakra. She didn't know what Naruto had to do with the Kiyobi or why he was so essential to this cruel plan of the Anbu agents, she didn't know why the agents needed every child attending the academy and even a few of the previous year's graduates. But she did know that she was done sitting aside and letting everyone do all the fighting for her, she knew that it was finally time for her to stand up and fight back, she could no longer hide behind her family, she now had to fight if she wanted to see her baby sister again.

It was time for her to protect the people who have always protected her

 _Now!_ "HIAK!" Hinata shouted loudly, the man turned and countered her soft palm attack but wasn't prepared for her foot slamming mercilessly into his leg, off setting his balance and giving Hinata the extra time to slam a chakra coated palm right into his mask, shattering it even as he fell into the orange light of the strange seal below Naruto. Nothing could prepare the young heiress for the resulting sound, like a monster roaring in anguish or the explosion of an entire nation worth of screams all sounding at once. The rabbit masked man shattered into dust, the seal shattered apart as a tree suddenly burst into being, racing towards the two bound children like a bullet. Hinata was forced to watch as the trunk opened up and wrapped around her like a snug blanket, separating her from Naruto and the pinket but also keeping them close to its heart as it grew higher and higher. The malevolent orange chakra disappeared as Hinata's world turned dark, the steal strips that were wrapped around the children all straightened perfectly and let the released children free fall, Iruka twitched a finger weakly and several large traps around the perimeter of the cells activated, the shadow's cursed as their numbers were decreased in half by the traps activation. The tree grew at a frightening rate, its branches expanding and reaching out to the falling, screaming children, catching them quickly and efficiently.

…

* * *

…

They arrived in the hall like shooting stars, even around a sharp corner, nearly wrecking the walls with their speed alone. The first thing they noticed was the scent of burnt hair, hot almost smoky air and blood—a lot of blood. The second thing was the no longer pristine white uniform of their medic laying in the hall before a man wearing the white robes of an Anbu captain. The animals howled warningly and he turned, nearly. making Kakashi crash into the floor as he skidded to a stop with wide eyes.

"You," Kakashi and the man said at the same time, Kakashi in surprise and the man hatefully. Kakashi's teammates and the large animals all slid to a stop, standing almost protectively in front of the Jonin, not sure if the man before them was an ally or enemy.

"Yurin!" Shisui shouted with blazing crimson orbs, making everyone stiffen as they locked their sights on the wounded woman at the captain's feet, "what happened to not fighting?!" Yurin's fingers twitched, the leading fox ducked her head, pure golden eyes locking on the woman. Shisui's fists trembled at his sides, Itachi took a protective step closer to him already ready for a fight beside his cousin, Tenzo centered himself in their group ready to play blockade if it was needed and Kakashi stepped forward like a predator; making even the carnivores grow wiry of him for a moment.

"What did you do?" Kakashi asked, making his teammates glance at him with a startled look, as if they've never heard the deadly tone of voice come from him before, "Renryū! Answer me! What did you do?!"

"Why should I answer the man who killed my sister?" The man asked, Kakashi felt his teammates eyes drift to him, wondering for a second time who this girl was.

"If the girl killed by Kakashi-san is Yurin's sister, then that makes you Yurin's elder brother," Itachi said slowly, "that means you are a Nohara, the first and only member of your clan in Anbu. You are Renryū the wind serpent."

"Indeed," Renryū nodded, returning his mask over his face and replacing his hood. "I am the wind serpent and you are in my way."

"Was your sister in your way too?" Shisui asked, "was that why you hurt her? The blood loss could kill her!"

"Yuri will not die," he replied, stooping and grabbing his sister by the back of her coat, ignoring the spurt of fresh blood spitting against his cloak from the wounds on her back, "I know a medic who'll tend to everything."

"Dose everything include her memories?" Kakashi asked, his fists neatly hidden in his pockets. Tenzo glanced at him before tapping Itachi on the wrist and gesturing him to move towards the farther side of the hall, were Shisui and Kakashi didn't stand. Renryū tilted his head at Kakashi, as if he was considering the question before nodding distractedly.

"Perhaps," Renryū murmured, "if she doesn't remember Rin, perhaps she'll be happier."

"She'll be happier forgetting you!" Shisui snarled, trembling with restraint

"You don't have the right to decide what she can and can't remember," Kakashi replied, lifting his headband but kept his scared eye closed. "Rin would be disappointed in you," Kakashi crouched lowly, ready to attack at a moment's notice, he needed only a reason.

"I doubt she'll be disappointed if I kill the man who wrongfully ended her life," Renryū replied, adjusting his hold on Yurin, only to find that he was holding the head piece of her uniform. Turning slightly he found Shisui crouching near the end of the hall, just a few feet shy of the edge. Yurin was braced against his shoulder, her long auburn brown hair surrounded them in endless waves, her chocolate brown eyes were cracked open and her clan marks were nearly perfectly hidden beneath bruises. Her tattered and torn uniform looked like a dress, splotched and strained with her blood.

"Compared to what you did to Yurin, I doubt it!" Kakashi shouted, racing forward with weapons drawn, "Tenzo, Shisui get to the kids!"

"But—" Shisui tried to protest

"Now!" Kakashi shouted clashing kunai with Renryū hard enough to make a blast current strong enough to push Shisui nearly off the edge. Itachi and Tenzo were suddenly standing in front of him, a wooden burrier between them and the massive fight between Anbu captains, Shisui stared wide eyed at the pale faced Anbu who nearly didn't make it in time to save them both from a serious plunge straight down.

"I think this is one fight we should stay out of," Itachi breathed, relaxing as he watched the bursts of wind that accompanied each clash between the two men, more than happy that Tenzo's shield was taking all the damage.

"Then you two go help the kids," Shisui suggested, gently placing Yurin against the wall and tucking her wild brown locks behind her ears as carefully as possible. "I'll stay here and—" Shisui was cut off as he was forced to block a series of weapons, he glared at the three small forms standing between the three leaf Nin. Lifting kunai up in defensive positions, the three young agents leaped forward towards their respected opponents; Shisui cursed moved to cover for Tenzo but found his attack unneeded.

Itachi was already standing at Tenzo's back, his foot in the agent's face, booth arms fool of the other two

"That's not a good idea," Itachi said, looking at his cousin blandly, "both Kakashi-san and I are Anbu captains. Compared to us you're a civilian, your responsibility should be to rescue the children. One of us will follow you down." The group of teens weren't able to speak another word when a scream of unequaled intensity reverberated in their ears, nearly defining them. They turned to look down in the pit and saw that the children they came to rescue were all bound in a great tree comprised of metallic strips still glowing with inscribed seals. To their horror, they watched as at the very center of the metallic structure, orange goo started to crawl up the base of the metal strips, approaching a bound group like an inch worm searching for its new meal.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is," Shisui whispered, memories from eight years ago surfacing in his mind like a nightmare he wished to forget

"…They've already started," Itachi murmured, his knees growing weak as his eyes locked in on his baby brother, knocked out and dangling over the orange goo as if he was simply sleeping. "We're… we're too late…"

"Can't we stop them?" Tenzo questioned, panting heavily as he tried to keep up the barrier of wood between them and the battling captains in the hallway beyond the shield.

"No," Shisui whispered, collapsing to his knees as he stared down at the tree of children crying in hysteria, "the Kiyōbi's chakra will reach them before we can save them and even if we can stop the sealing, the chakra is released. Without its container it'll thrash wildly and destroy everything around it. The children, the agents, us, everyone in this mountain will die if we interfere now… all we can do is wait."

"…That's messed up," Tenzo grunted, hissing in pain when he felt a section of his wooden shield threaten to give way. Their mission was to find and rescue the children of the village, how were they supposed to do that if the children in question were mindless mini-demons hell bent on destroying everything and everyone around them? he could hear some shouting from the children, screaming from the sacrifice and then mournful howling of young pups, it all made him wonder curiously if the clan children were still fighting desperately for their freedom but it wasn't as if he could actually help them. he was having a hard enough time trying to keep the shield up to protect them from the blasts of the fight between captains and he wasn't evens sure if he was able to keep the wooden shield up for much longer, it was getting harder and harder as the fight continued on.

"Tenzo-san, could you spare the chakra to tie these three up?" Tenzo glanced in exasperation at Itachi, at his feet were three bleeding bodies of what he guessed to be root agents, presumably they tried attacking the two Uchiha while they were busy staring at the scene below them.

"I'm a little busy," Tenzo grumbled at him, returning his attention back to the cracking and shaking shield he was struggling to keep up. Itachi blinked at him and shrugged, turning on the ball of his foot he distracted himself by tying up the three bodies together with ninja wire. Just as he was done, there was a scream that was different from the eardrum-shattering wail from before, this one sounded as if the demon itself was roaring in displeasure.

"What's happening?!" Tenzo asked loudly

"Its retreating," Shisui whispered in wonder, "the Kiyobi's chakra is retreating!" The second the malevolent signature disappeared from sight, an explosion rocked through the mountain, making cracks appear all around, threatening to cave in the mountain.

"What now?!" Tenzo asked loudly, beginning to feel the strain in keeping the barrier up

"…Tenzo! Did you summon that tree?!" Shisui asked loudly, stepping back fearfully

"How can I summon a tree when I'm distracted?!" Tenzo asked in return, if the fighting between captains didn't end soon then the blasts of combat between them was going to shatter his shield and send all of them crashing into the ruckus below. "Come on sempai…" _I can't keep this up forever!_

"Look out!" Tenzo looked over his shoulder just in time to see a blur of brown before his world turned dark. Alarmed by the sound of shattering rock and terrified screams, Kakashi and Renryū both separated to look around their surroundings. At the end of the hall were there was a hole in the floor, a giant branch appeared and smashed the wooden barrier Tenzo erected to protect Shisui and Itachi.

"Tenzo!" Kakashi shouted as he dived forward, hoping to reach his friend, but before that the branch wrapped around him protectively, lifting him away from the hall almost too fast for Itachi and Shisui could react. The two teens in question each grabbed a knocked out root agent and tried to retreat to safer grounds, while Itachi retreated towards Kakashi, Shisui dived into the hole looking frantic. Reaching the edge of the hall, stumbling back when it threatened to give under their weight, Kakashi saw that Shisui dived into the hole to reach Iruka, who looked like a bloody mangled mess. Kakashi closed his eyes, he should've known better than to bring Iruka along, regardless of the fact that he once took on a team of Iwa and came out on top without a scratch. He was a fool for thinking that the basically retired war vet could take on the specialized forces known as Root. However, Iruka did last longer than any other chunin would have, Kurenai and Yurin included. The entire platform where Iruka was laying was covered in the corpses of the agents, not one of them moving as blood continued to poor out of their bodies. Iruka must've fought against at least half of the agents and took them all out quickly and efficiently so he wouldn't have to deal with them later. It would explain why he was more battered looking than Kurenai; he must've taken on the full brunt of them so she could focus on freeing the kids. Kakashi leaped onto a branch swiping by, smashing Renryū into the stone wall hard enough to near cave the wall in. At least he knew the tree was on their side and not Root's that was a relief; now he just had to figure out who was making the tree. Trying to calm himself as the branch he leaped onto wrapped around him protectively, Kakashi searched for anyone who looked like Naruto. He found several blondes but they were all too old to be the boy he was looking for and anyone who was the appropriate age had dark hair.

"Kakashi!" He looked up at the sound of his name, his borrowed eye snapping onto the frightened crimson eyes of a familiar Kunochi. "Kakashi!" Kurenai screamed, throwing one hand towards him in panic, revealing a wild several young children huddling close to her, one of whom appeared to be his yellow haired charge. Suddenly Kurenai pulled all five of the young children together and used her body to cover them protectively, as if she thought she could protect them from being crushed against the sealing by being their cushion.

"We're going to hit the ceiling!" One of the younger children shouted from his place near the top, in response the very top of the branches twisted together into a dense penetrating spiral of pure wooden branches; hiding the group perfectly.

"Kurenai!" Kakashi screamed haplessly, he felt his heart stop as a terrifying thought made itself known.

Twice in ten minutes he's let two of his teammate's die.

His vow was broken

…

* * *

…

 **Was the last scene okay? did it make sense?**

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 10**


	14. Chapter 14

**First Impressions**

Chapter 14: To survive

Koomahana

 **Mamorigami—guardian spirit**

 **Ubume-A mother ghost who died in childbirth or died leaving young children behind, this Yūrei (Demon) returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashback_

…

* * *

…

The entire hall was covered in webs, thousands of spiders littered the walls, eagerly catching escaped Kikaichu and snacking on them hungrily. The darkness worked well to hide their webs and the black clouds of insects swarming defensively around their master were soon trapped and bound in his spider silk. The young man struggled for a moment in the tight hold of the webs but soon stilled when one of the larger spiders stationed itself over his right artery, its presence alone enough of a threat. The young man evened out his breathing before staring back at him unafraid of the hundreds of spiders crawling over his body, their powerful webs clogging the pours in his skin and killing any of his insects that dared to venture out. As clan head, he wasn't supposed to use brute force against one of his own clansmen but to be fair, the boy did attack him first.

"Where is my son?" Shibi asked, voice low and dark, the young man refused to answer, despite his spiders surrounding them had left only five of the young man's insects alive; dangling them in front of him mockingly. One young spider crunched loudly on its victim; the young man gritted his teeth, like all Aburame he was attached to his insects, he'd rather fight with his fists then lose the creatures who were with him nearly since birth.

"Why have you betrayed me?" Shibi asked, a second kikaichū thrashed wildly as another spider sank its poisonous fangs into it

"You are holding back the growth of your own child," The young man snarled at him, "You are holding back the clan itself. You don't have the right to be clan head."

"Danzo knows nothing of our clan," Shibi replied, his spiders stilled in their munching of kikaichū, awaiting further orders, "Unless you told him all of our secrets." The young man snorted, his spiders told him that the young man _apparently_ wasn't that stupid. "I will ask you one last time Shinashi, Where is my son?"

"Only your wife can answer that," Shinashi replied viciously

Silence filled the tunnel as the young man's blood splattered against the walls

"Stupid boy," Shibi said dully, letting his spiders consume the last of the kikaichūbefore devouring the young man to dispose of any secrets he might've still held within his body, "if you hadn't said that you'd have been able to see your mother one last time."

"I see you're as over protective as always," the webs filling the hall in front of him fell towards the ground like damp silk, revealing a familiar looking one eyed man with two short shadows crouching low at his feet. Water seeped across the floor like a shadow crossing a field, his spiders grumbled and hissed, a few spitting at the one eyed man, before retreating to surround Shibi protectively.

"Danzo Shimura," Shibi said dully, "Where is my son?" his largest spider shook itself out from its burrow of fine silk and shuttered further into the darkness, awaiting to ambush its newest possible target.

"He is the only thing that you have left of your wife, is he not?" Danzo sighed at him, "Am I truly so rude as to take a man's only memory of his love?"

"Yes," Shibi answered bluntly, several of his more poisonous spiders dropping from the ceiling to surround him

"Fair enough," Danzo shrugged carelessly, "I'll tell you if you live." Shibi quickly found out that the shadows at Danzo's feet were anything but human and were immune to his spider's venom, only their webs seemed to slow them marginally but the creatures seemed to learn and adapt from every attack his spiders sent at them. After one strike to his shoulder from the taller of the creature's, Shibi knew it was time to retreat, these little monsters were as lethal as his spiders.

Grinding his teeth, Shibi swore to kill Danzo if he still had his only child

…

* * *

…

The branches hit the thick ancient rock, bending beneath its old, black, uneven surface, the children whimpered and Kurenai braced herself, tears flying out of her eyes as she squeezed them shut, her body tensing to protect the children. Kakashi watched, horrified as he realized that he couldn't focus on them with his sharingan eye, there were too many branches between them, covering them just enough to make his eye useless. Then, without warning, the black rock shattered apart like an erupting volcano, the giving of earth erupted in their ears and vibrated in their bodies, tattooing itself into everyone's mind for the rest of time. Then it was as if the tree was released from its restraints, it grew through the air like a released spring, shattering through the dense cloud of black smoke hovering over the village like a suffocating blanket. Then there was blinding white-gold light washing over them, blinding everyone as it seeped into every crevices of the tree as if it was reflected off the coffee brown bark.

"Morning?" Kakashi whispered, wincing as he tried to get used to the sudden light, "but we were only in there for a few hours..."

"It was the seal tags covering the walls and pillars," Kakashi turned to see Bishido sitting just behind him, almost protectively beside Tenzo. "They act like a massive Genjutsu, distorting one's sense of time. However because they hit all five senses and are re-applied every two minutes, it was next to impossible for anyone to notice the difference. It distorted our sense of time not our sense of body speed," The copper orange fox looked at him, a strange glint of sadness in his golden eyes. "Not even we animals noticed the distortion. That is why we were all surprised when a new wave of our allies appeared randomly. They had been sent in at increments. The first wave waited two hours after we entered, the second two hours after the first, the third another two hours after the second and the fourth over loaded the tags, lifting the Genjutsu with their numbers."

"That's why the past ten minutes seemed like they were flying by," Kakashi whispered to himself, the fox nodded at him as if he expected Kakashi to make the connection.

"Tenzo will be just fine," Bishido said as he rose and shook out his thick fur coat. "Hime is healing the wounded, however she wants to do it right, so it'll be a while." All at once the branches at the top unfolded with a great snap, bashing back the jumping shadowed figures like a fly swatter. Kakashi clutched tightly to his branch, not used to feeling a tree move under him. Bishido stared at him for a moment before smirking and leaping away, a sound like laughter following him.

"But… Iruka," Kakashi said slowly, looking down at the ground, only to see a sea of black water pushing at the edge of the trunk like angry waves on a cliff face. Pulling back sharply, Kakashi tried not to feel sick at the dizzying height he just realized they were all remaining at, swallowing the bile in his throat back down to his stomach, Kakashi looked for a distraction around him. Only to realize that the branch wrapped around him kept him facing down word, leaving his hands and feet to dangle towards the dark clouds below ominously.

"Who are you?" Kakashi twisted his neck to look up and behind himself but he could only see a pair of pale feet and pink cloth. Based by the size of the feet, the person standing on the branch over him was a child. He honestly couldn't believe the irony of the situation, he a child soldier was at the mercy of a child soldier.

There were times were karma should eat a happy pill and move on

"Kakashi Hatake, Anbu Captain for lord Hokage," he answered, "are you going to leave me here to dangle or are you going to help me up?"

"What do you want?" The voice was tilted, soft and fearful, yet firm and unwavering

"...uh, to be safe from this nauseating sight?" Kakashi answered sarcastically

"...the children," he tried to look back at the child but could only see their bare feet, a small trail of blood rolling down the ankle joint, "are you... going to hurt them?"

"No, I was sent to protect them," Kakashi answered, "can you please get me to safer ground please? I don't like the feeling of dangling over open air like this and I doubt the children do either."

"what is wrong with my tree?" The child asked

"Everything brat, _everything_ ," Kakashi drawled, his patience beginning to grow thin. "First off, the other children would fall to their deaths if they were forced to remain on a wobbly branch for who knows how long. Plus its windy up here, if the freezing temperatures didn't give them hyperthermia they'd still get ammonia, both of which would kill them if their inability to climb trees didn't."

"I see," that was all the warning Kakashi had before the world was upside down

…

* * *

…

Shino cupped a few dozen of his insects in his hands, turned away from Kiba, Sasuke and Kurenai, Naruto was still sleeping soundly in Kurenai's lap, oblivious to the worried staring of the three around him. According to the insects in Shino's hands, they were in the top branches of a powerful and ancient chakra tree, it was defiantly older than all the others in their village. Just being in its branches was enough to restore their energy and heal their more serious wounds. It also made his insects shy away from feeding on his chakra, preferring the purer energy of the tree.

"Search for the maker of the tree," Shino ordered, "then find anyone with trace amounts of that scent on them."

"Dude, don't give me orders," Shino jumped, feeling Kiba sprawl against his back to look at the bugs in his hands

"Who are you talking to Aburame-san?" Kurenai asked peering over both of their shoulders curiously, Naruto was laying behind them, still sleeping soundly.

"Are those your insects Aburame-san?" Sasuke asked curiously, appearing on his left side, looking down at his palms curiously, "What kind are those?"

"My insects and yes, they're call Kikaichū," Shino said as he pushed his hands out and sent them on their way

"They're not as mean as cousin said," Sasuke whispered, watching them fly away with a curious tilt to his head

"Your cousin wouldn't have happened to have made one of my relatives angry did they?" Shino asked, tilting his head at him curiously

"I don't know the whole story," Sasuke replied with a slight irritated look at him, "He just told me to avoid any Aburame who had an obsession with spiders."

"If it is Hikaru then yes, he angered Naname, he deserved it," Shino said calmly, earning a snicker from Kiba and making Sasuke lean slightly back; Kurenai shook her head amusedly as she carefully crawled back to Naruto. Stroking the blonde's wild locks back, she watched fondly as his eyes twitched and his face pinched in sleepy irritation. Naruto took in a deep steady breath before snuggling against her knees like they were his pillow. Kurenai smiled fondly at him, letting him sleep in her lap like the child that he was, her fingers gently weaved through his locks until they came across a rough patch of skin on his scalp. Curious about the strange feeling, Kurenai carefully parted his hair and examined the location of rough skin and too her crimson gaze found a still healing wound that was shaped like the end of a lighter or match. She brushed her fingers over it gently and frowned at the flecks of skin that fell lose to reveal newly made bright pink skin still tender to the air. Her heavy sigh was enough irritation on the day-or-so-old wound to make the blonde cringe and wake up with a sleepy pout. Staring into her crimson gaze for a moment, Naruto suddenly yelped and leaped away from Kurenai, nearly collided heads with her in the process.

"Who-who-who?!" Naruto stuttered repeatedly, unable to form a coherent sentence as he pointed at her with a fearful look on his round face

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi," Kurenai smiled patiently at him, something in her chest clenching tight at the fearful look on the boy's face, "I came with several others to save the kidnaped children of the academy." Naruto pursed his lips and frowned at her, his brows pinching together as he glanced over at the three other boys nearby, all three looking at him curiously.

"Why me?" Naruto asked slowly

"You are a student of the academy," Kurenai replied, softening her features so he wouldn't feel threatened by her sudden appearance in his life, "Do I need any other reason?"

"…where's Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked looking around him so he wouldn't have to answer her. However, by looking away from her, Naruto's eyes landed on Sasuke and Kiba, their faces pinched, blood shot and bruised, as if they were beaten up and then spent a while crying over it.

"Iruka-sensei..." Naruto turned to look at the Kunochi, starting her fearfully, "he... He did come for us right?" His voice was so soft and weak, as if the wind would blow him out of this world, "he promised... he promised to-" Naruto cut himself off as Kurenai wrapped her arms around him, he remained stiff, not daring to move or breath as she held him tightly.

"He came," the woman whispered in his ear, something wet splashing against his shoulder, "he came for you, just like he promised."

…

* * *

…

 _"N...Naruto," Iruka whispered, eyes half lidded and blood dripping past his lips, there was a tantto stationed in his chest. It was a miracle the chunin was still living, that kind of wound would've killed anyone else instantly._

 _"He's safe," Shisui answered with a wobbly smile, as he tried to pull the blade out carefully, "we got to him in time." Iruka smiled weakly, Shisui cursed as he felt the older man's pulse drop drastically._ I'm losing him, _Shisui thought, grinding his teeth together as he pressed both hands into Iruka's bloody side, ignoring the warmth over flowing them to stain his knees. "Come on man you gotta fight! We're still in danger here!" Iruka's smile didn't twitch or fade even as he light in his warm chocolate eyes slowly faded, "Iruka! Quite being a drama queen and fight!"_

" _Sensei!" Shisui flinched as three sets of palms slapped over his own hands, all glowing a faint emerald, he looked up, sharingan eyes spinning, staring in horror at the faces of the three young girls crying as they tried their best to heal their teacher._

" _Sensei! Sensei! Wake up sensei!" the blonde all but screamed, tears flowing out of her eyes like rivers, "Please!"_

" _S-sensei, sensei," the smallest whimpered, "Sensei… sensei, don't go, don't leave us, please!"_

" _Wake up you over protective mother hen!" the one with purple stripes on her cheeks ordered, "Sensei!"_

" _Sensei!"_

Shisui wrapped his arms around his legs, hiding his face in his knees; it had been a long time since he last failed in saving someone. He always thought that if he was fast enough he could save anyone, he just had to master the shun-shin jutsu, then he could get to anyone in time and save them before it was too late. That was why he always practiced the technique until he feinted from exhaustion; that was why he earned the nick name 'flash-step master Shisui'. It was all so he could save people before they got hurt, before they were taken away from this world forever—so he wouldn't be forced to tell someone their precious person was gone forever because _he wasn't fast enough_. Iruka was a school teacher; he was married to a retired chunin, had one child and another on the way, and over ninety percent of the students at the academy positively adored him.

How was he supposed to tell them that their teacher wasn't going to come back? How was he supposed to tell Iruka's wife and child that—His thoughts were diverted as a small pale hand gripped the edge of the bowl the branches made for him. The small hand was soon joined by another and then by a bright yellow head, then one of the little girls who tried to save Iruka, pulled herself over the edge. She tumbled over the edge with a yelp, her landing was then followed by impossibly small tan hands gripping the edge with white knuckles. The blond shook her head and quickly stammered to her feet, only to turn and pull a small black haired kid over the edge of the bowl. Once the smaller girl was safe in the bowl, the blond braced herself over the edge and grabbed something from below with both hands, struggling to pull someone else into the bowl. The little girl soon started to help the blond and together they pulled up a russet haired girl with perfectly sky blue eyes. The youngest girl turned towards him and stared, her diverted attention drew the stares of the other two. Shisui stared back at them dumbly before realizing that they could be staring at his still bloody hands; feeling self-conscious, he hid his hands behind his knees.

"I'm Inoko Yamanaka," the blonde smiled at him, sniffing as her irises swam in gathering tears, "this is Rina Nohara," she gestured to the russet haired girl, he could guess her clan based on the bright purple stripes on her cheeks. "And this is Mimi Kurama," Shisui reflexively looked down at the small girl's left arm, her clan tattoo she received when she turned one stood proudly on her creamy caramel skin. He then decided to look a little closer at the three girls, already knowing they were the same three girls who tried to heal Iruka. Inoko was dressed in a green V-neck, sleeveless shirt, its top three buttons were undone, showing off her long white sleeved shirt beneath. Her skirt was split from her left knee up to her black belt clipped tightly just under her green top. Rina was dressed in a muddy brown kimono top tied in place with her white (now blood stained) skirt that reached just past her knees; a typical female Nohara outfit. Little Mimi was dressed in a sleeveless black turtle neck with plane navy blue caprices; another typical outfit of her family.

"I'm Shisui Uchiha," he replied, staring blankly at them. Mimi smiled at him and walked over, without permission, she pushed his knees apart and sat in his lap, snuggling her face into his neck. Shisui stared down at her for a moment, bewildered as to why she would hug him. Before he could question the little girl, he felt his neck grow wet and when he heard her sniff he realized the girl was crying.

"I... Iruka-sensei," Inoko sniffed, drawing his attention back to her, "he-he said that," tears were starting to roll down her cheek and Rina grabbed her hand in silent support. "That everyone makes mistakes," Inoko's knees started to tremble and before he knew it, the blonde was clinging to him tightly, crying loudly. He honestly didn't know what to do, he's never had anyone crying on him. The most crying he's had to deal with came from toddlers or the silent, depressed ball of mush that Itachi formed when he felt like crying but refused to do so. He's never had someone clinging to him like he was a life line, crying on his shoulder like he could take the pain away. He heard a soft sniff quickly followed by a shuttering breath, looking up he saw Rina staring at them with over flowing ocean blue eyes. He didn't know what else to do, he smiled weakly and waved her over with his free hand. She walked with shaking legs, her body trembling as she tried to restrain her own sorrow. But the second she sat next to him and he gently tugged her into his chest, the damn broke and she was crying. She wasn't giving the silent tears Mimi was doing and she wasn't doing the near hysterical wailing Inoko was doing, she was going between cycles of both. A moment of quiet tears were followed by a few minutes of sobs and gasping, followed by numb induced silence. Shisui tightened his hold on the three girls before closing his eyes in acceptance, he wasn't the only one who failed to bring Iruka back.

Now he just had to make sure the girls wouldn't let his death effect the rest of their lives

…

* * *

…

He woke to the feeling of his face burning from the cold and his lungs feeling as if he was trying to breathe through a thin straw. Opening his eyes sleepily, Tenzo stared at the dark green knot-work of branches and leaves, interrupted only by small gaps of white light from beyond the dark ceiling. Moving stiffly, flinching as his back cracked loudly, Tenzo pushed himself higher on the large wooden platform he was in and examined his surroundings. However he seemed to have been cut off from the rest of the world, he had three other unconscious children in the large room with him and at the end of the farthest child was a large arch opening. Curious he stiffly pushed himself up to his feet and braced himself against the wall of tangled branches and carefully ambled towards the brightly lit entrance. Panting out of breath, which told him that he was currently in a place that had very thin air, Tenzo braced himself against the curved doorway and looked out at the place he was kept. At first he thought he was hallucinating, the grassy field he thought he saw beyond the doorway was actually acres of tightly weaved branches, upon which sat a few dozen large triangular shaped huts all formed from interweaved branches braced against thick young trees like the twelve support branches inside his own 'hut'. Between the large branch-weaved-huts were large thick wooden platforms, some looking as if they were created to dip down a little so the occupants inside could get out of the cold wind. About fifty or so feet over head there appeared to be another floor complete with its own number of huts and platforms, several large wooden spiral staircases were scattered here and there for easy access to the upper floor. There were many children wandering around on the branch-weaved floor, some slowly striding up the staircases and others socializing on the wooden platforms, some children were even accompanied by animals, both large and small. Every child he saw was dressed in the same white dress, some with hems ending about knee length and others with hems ending at the waist, were a pair of wide bell shaped pants covered their legs. Regardless of the preference, all of them wore wide thick belts tighed tightly in the back.

 _Am I dreaming?_ Tenzo asked as he took a step forward only to remember that he wasn't as light as the children and he could fall through. He jerked his foot back and looked down at his feet, as if reading his mind, the branches weaved together tightly until there appeared to be one large branch that then grew out word to form three different paths. One path curved sharply around the hut to the back side, one path went straight forward to the trunk of the tree and one veered off to the left, straight towards a flat platform containing several children. Being considerate of his steps, Tenzo carefully picked his way across the thick branch and towards the platform of children. Reaching it, all thoughts of being careful of his footing flew out the window as he found himself staring down at a young Inuzuka girl wrapped in thick torn stripes of cloths and large leaves. Two of the genin kneeling to either side of the Inuzuka kept their backs straight, their hands hovering over different places on the girl's body, glowing a gentle jade in the pale light of the morning. Laying directly opposite of the Inuzuka was a sleeping Yamanaka, hands wrapped with large leaves and threads to keep the leaves in place.

"Good morning mister," he jerked at the soft whisper, blinking he looked to the child laying next to the sleeping Yamanaka, "you've been asleep for a long time. Master was beginning to worry."

"Do you know what happened little one?" Tenzo asked softly, not wanting to distract the concentrating genin, "Did we fail in protecting you? Are we in the neither realm* now?"

"All children survived Anbu-san," the boy answered simply, pushing himself up into a sitting position, "only your team suffered a lose and even that isn't confirmed." Tenzo climbed onto the platform quietly, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach by looking around himself again, looking out at the large seemingly endless sea of branches, huts, and platforms.

"...We're in a tree," the boy said with a sigh, "we're also about two or three miles above the village, that's why the air is so thin."

"Say what?" Tenzo asked sharply, "no tree can be that tall! It'd collapse or get cut down before it could get past two hundred feet!"

"Kakashi-sama is the one who estimated the height," the boy drawled, as if he was bored with the conversation, "and Kakashi-sama is rarely wrong, so unless your doubting his word-"

"'Sama'?" Tenzo quoted in bewilderment, "who are you?"

"...I'm Katsu Hatake," the boy answered bluntly, Tenzo stared at the boy's dark gray hair, wondering why he never thought the boy could've been related to his superior. "Oh and pinky made the tree, she created it by using a pool of natural chakra that was hidden inside the mountain, that's why this tree can exist."

"Pinky?" Tenzo questioned, the boy stared at him blankly for a moment before scoffing and climbing to his feet, the annoyed sound reminded the teen of one of the first arguments he's gotten into with Kakashi and the doubt he held about the boy's identity was whipped away.

"Man your slow," Katsu yawned as he started to walk away, "come on, I'll show you." Tenzo frowned at the boy but followed him across the platform to the other side, he watched in dumbfounded astonishment as the boy walked off the platform as if he didn't see the giant human sized hole there at the edge.

"Ah! Wai-" a branch thrust out just in time to catch the boy's full weight, allowing him to continue walking forward as if nothing in this world was wrong. Katsu paused and looked back at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" Katsu asked, tilting his head to the side dumbly, "you coming or what?" Tenzo could hardly believe that the boy was standing on a branch barely thicker then his wrist, it was a Jonin technique and he was performing it as if it was natural to him. "Come on, I don't have all day," the boy crouched at him, "I'm not even supposed to be up. If Nohara-san finds out I'm gonna get an ear full, now lets go!" He returned to walking on his path, stepping onto the wide branch weaved floor as if it was as still and solid as stone. With a twitching eyebrow, Tenzo stepped off the platform and was far more relived to see another thick branch appear beneath his feet just like the first one.

"Man you're a scaredie-cat!" Katsu mocked, earning an irritated look from his elder, "not even Kakashi-sama took this long to adapt to the branches. Just trust 'em and get over here! If you take too long we'll miss Pinky!" Tenzo took a deep steadying breath and imagined thumping the brat just for good measure, but his next step was accompanied by a vine wrapping around his ankle, nearly tripping him.

"Clear your mind!" Katsu ordered, "quickly before she drops you!" Tenzo froze, his face paling as he stared down at the vine, waiting for the branches beneath him to disappear and send him falling straight down to his death. But the drop never happened, the vine just sat there on his ankle, as if waiting for instructions, even Katsu was staring with wide dark eyes.

"That's enough princess, he means no harm," Tenzo and Katsu both turned to see who had spoken and found themselves staring at Kakashi, in his arms was a sleepy little white haired academy student.

"Kakashi-sama!" Katsu called out, his dark eyes lighting up as he dived for the older Hatake, "your friend is up! Will you practice with us now?"

"Seriously Katsu-kun? Do you only see me as stool to get stronger?" Kakashi sighed, catching the younger boy easily, "honestly now, your clan heir, surely there are better things to do then to train till you faint."

"That's what you did!" Katsu whined

"And it coast me my childhood," Kakashi reminded him, "my past is not something I wish to be repeated on you or anyone else, understand?"

"Yes sir," Katsu pouted, pulling away from the Anbu agent

"Good, now go get Kurenai," Kakashi instructed, "she has much to inform Tenzo and I about." Katsu took the child in Kakashi's arms and walked away sullenly, leaving the two adults to speak without snooping children.

"Sempai... What's going on? Are we really in a tree?" Tenzo asked

"And about three miles over the village," Kakashi confirmed, jerking his head to the side so Tenzo knew which way they were going to travel, "come on, I'll take you to the edge."

…

* * *

…

"Did we get the girl?" He asked, staring at the four commanders who were each backed by their own three highest ranking officers behind them, all of whom were kneeling respectfully before him.

"Negative sir," the closest commander answered, "she escaped into the tree with the others."

"So in other words, you caught the children and then lost them shortly thereafter?" He questioned

"The animals did a significant amount of damage to our forces before retreating with the children into the tree." The commander answered, "we had no men to retrieve the children before they were out of reach." He sighed heavily, pinching his brow tiredly. He stared at the the dozen white robed men in front of him, short only one captain because of his broken legs and fractured arms. He lost Tenzo because of his blatant loyalty to Kakashi, he lost Kakashi because of his loyalty to Hiruzen and there was a possibility that he lost Itachi as well.

"Any word of Crow?" He asked, mildly irritated with the situation

"No contact yet," the same agent answered calmly, "...Danzo-sama, are we positively sure that captain Crow is reliable?" He knew the man wasn't trying to doubt or ridicule his teaching methods but in his foul mood it certainly sounded that way.

"...There is no fault in my training regiment," he replied, "there is only the wrong candidate. His loyalty will be tested upon his return... Though it would be more beneficial if he acted as a spy for me..."

"Is that not what Yakushi-san is for?" The man asked, "he is the chameleon..."

"True," he hummed thoughtfully, "Crane, gather information on the amount of damage to the village. Falcon find any remaining civilians still within our borders and bring them back. Sparrow, I want to know who's hurt, who's dead, who's still alive and who can report for duty. Eagle, estimate our finances; I need to know how much money to spend and on what supplies. Hawk... find out what you can about the tree. Generals! Help your Commanders!"

"Yes sir!" The white coats scattered

"Sparrow," Danzo called just before his only female agent could leave. The fourteen year old froze and quickly returned to her kneeling position before him, "find Itachi. I know he's your subordinate, he listens to you the most, find him and bring him back."

"If he isn't willing to return?" She asked, voice whisper soft, a habit the women of his clan never grew out of

"If he chooses to be our enemy, you have the right to kill him," Danzo ordered, she stood and started to walk away, but before she could disappear into the shadows of the meeting room, he gave one last order. "Don't die," his voice was even softer then the young woman's and for a moment he thought she didn't hear him. The anxious second was ended when a familiar hum filled the air, three little notes meaning nothing to everyone but everything to them.

Hiruzen would have a fit if he knew who Sparrow truly was

…

* * *

…

 **'neither realm' often refers to the after life or world of the dead**

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **And don't forget to rate and review!**

 **Page 12**


	15. Chapter 15

**First Impressions**

Chapter 15: Defiance to the flame

Koomahana

 **Just in case this wasn't clear before, the small branches of the tree are weaving together so tightly they merge into one branch and become thicker and stronger during the process**

 **The huts look kind of like Indian tents, with their main sticks that keep the tent up replaced as twelve small trees and the animal skin that made up the sides of the tents are replaced by branches and leaves. Basically take the shape of a triangular tent and lay a bunch of tree limbs along its sides, the one flat side would be facing inside so all the smaller branches holding all the leaves would be facing out word.**

 **The platforms are just giant slabs of wood that are supported by the weaved branches of the 'floor'**

 **Let me know if that cleared up any confusion or made things worst, I wasn't sure if I was being clear enough with my descriptions**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashback_

…

* * *

…

"Sempai... What's going on? Are we really in a tree?" Tenzo asked, his tone full of disbelief and uncertainty

"And about three miles over the village," Kakashi confirmed, jerking his head to the side so Tenzo knew which way they were going to travel, "come on, I'll take you to the edge." As if sensing their intention, the vine around Tenzo's ankle disappeared and the branches weaved together to form a solid path towards their destination, the carefully merging limbs all mercilessly stretching past huts and platforms along the way. As they walked along the safer branch that was as thick as they were tall, Tenzo took the opportunity to study each platform and hut they passed. Some huts were full of three or four sleeping children, usually the first or second year academy students, others were empty but had woven baskets inside. Almost every platform he passed had wounded children or animals on them, each with a different severity to their wounds, who were also accompanied by at least two young medics in training. Every now and again, he'd pass an inverted platform; essentially it was round with three or four steps leading down into it with the center containing either a table or a hole that he assumed to be a fire pit. These inverted platforms seemed to be more popular with kids, he found them sitting at the table eating warm soup or playing cards, sometimes even sharpening tools they lifted off their attackers (Hatake and Uchiha brats no doubt) and sometimes they were whispering or crying softly against each other, these later groups were accompanied with a larger canine or feline.

"The kids with the larger animals were chosen by the creatures to be their masters," Kakashi said suddenly, drawing Tenzo's attention to a group of kids trying to learn how to ride on horse back, most fell off on the third or fourth gallop, "some of the canine users will undoubtedly marry into the Inuzuka clan."

"...Are you sure we didn't die and fail the mission?" Tenzo asked as he stopped walking, staring at a large wolf and lion sleeping side by side, their respective human curled against them.

"A little on the unnatural side isn't it?" Kakashi asked, his tone sounding with barely hidden laughter, "don't worry, you'll get used to the sight soon enough."

"Sempai," Tenzo called out in irritation, "that's not what I asked!"

"I'm sure and you'll be convinced too in a moment," Kakashi reassured, "just a little further, you'll see." Tenzo followed Kakashi a little further, until he saw a wall of branches inter spaced with columns of thick limbless trees, he rushed past his superior and braced himself against the edge, staring wide eyed at the scene before him. Beyond the wall of woven branches interspace with gaping holes was a never ending sea of clouds alight with the golden light of the morning sun.

It was so beautiful, he didn't mind being dead

"Hay Tenzo," he looked back at his superior, "look down." Tenzo blinked at Kakashi, who decided to point downward as if to emphasis his point and Tenzo stupidly followed instructions. He shouted and jumped back words, landing on his rear end with both hands coving his mouth to keep himself from hurling.

"Haha, I did the same thing!" Kakashi laughed at him, stopping beside Tenzo the gray haired man crossed his arms and leaned against the thick rail of the edge, his dark eye stubbornly locked on the horizon. "If you feel sick just looking down at that cloud, then you're defiantly still living."

"What cloud?" Tenzo questioned, still sitting on the branch floor trying to keep his stomach from crawling out his throat. Kakashi sighed as if disappointed and yet a small part of Kakashi wasn't surprised with Tenzo's inability to see the ocean of black clouds.

"The dark cloud covering the village," Kakashi answered, "its obscuring its entire existence, everything within crescent valley is now hidden beneath the black cloud." 'Crescent valley' was the original name of the valley the founders settled the village into; it was called that because the mountain range of fire country took a random turn back towards north. Like some kind of giant monster crash landed into the valley and created the mountain range by accident, it would explain why the Hokage Mountain was a sheer cliff face and why in flood season the Hokage tower always gets the worst of the damage.

"That's the village and the surrounding forests," Tenzo gasped in disbelief, his stomach twisting uncomfortably, "how can that happen?! How long have we been up here? Surely the smoke from the fire should've dissipated by now!"

"I don't know how long we've been up here," Kakashi answered him, "we're in the middle of summer now and it appears that we're high enough in the sky that the sun doesn't actually set... either that or its still July ninth."

"I'd take the safer bet of the former option," the two men turned to look at their female teammate, Kurenai stood before them with several clan children huddled behind her, all dressed in similar white robes.

"Kurenai-san," Tenzo greeted with a blank look, his hands plopping into his lap now that his stomach had settled, "what happened to your clothes?" The red eyed kunochi was dressed in an elegant silken cocktail dress that danced around her ankles, complete with a hitched waist, a wide silken belt to keep it closed and wide bell sleeves ending about wrist level.

"Its a little cold for a tank top and shorts," the woman blushed lightly, she turned slightly and rested one hand on a young Aburame's head with a pleased smile. "Shino-kun and his cousins were able to harvest the silk worms the birds brought us and created us warmer clothes. They aren't battle worthy but they are warmer then what I had on earlier."

"Ah, now I understand why all the kids were dressed so similarly," Tenzo nodded in understanding, "I thought Danzo just had them all changed into white Yukatas or something." Kurenai chuckled at him, not surprised by his deduction, but the children at her side didn't seem to share her amusement or her trust.

"...why are the brats looking at me as if I'm gonna eat them?" Tenzo questioned, looking pointedly at the little Hyuga hiding almost perfectly behind the chunin; the young Inuzuka boy snapped his teeth at him, as if in warning.

"They've become quite wiry of adults," Kurenai smiled at him, "especially those hiding their faces behind masks."

"I'm not wearing a mask," Tenzo frowned at her, only to freeze and pale, "ahhh! Where's my mask?!"

"The children took it," Kakashi chuckled, "don't freak out, they took mine too."

"Don't freak out?!" Tenzo shouted, drawing attention to them, "we're breaking Anbu code 101! We're dead meat if anyone see—"

"Calm down," there was a snap to Kakashi's voice and Tenzo reflexively snapped his mouth shut, even leaning slightly back as if he thought the older male would hit him. "I've already explained the rules to the children; they understand the situation and have agreed to keep silent about our identities. Don't insult them by doubting in their loyalty to the Sandaime Hokage." Tenzo nodded slowly at him, too stunned to disagree with his captain and to wiry of the children to question Kakashi's terminology.

"Well look what the cat brought in," Tenzo snapped around with wide eyes, staring in disbelief as the master of the flash step ambled up to them with a four year old on his hip and two preteens at his side. "Glade to see you up, some of the carnivores were starting to pace your room." Shisui grinned mischievously at him, ignoring the disgruntled growl from the wolf carrying another young child on its back, walking beside Itachi and Sasuke as if nothing in the world was wrong with its presence beside them.

"Be nice Shisui," Itachi drawled, one hand still clasped around his baby brother's, "I'm sure he needed the sleep if he's been out all this time."

"…nii-tan, are all your teammate's as lazy as they are?" Sasuke asked his big brother, blinking up at him curiously, earning a stifled snort from Shisui and amused chuckling from Kakashi and Itachi.

"Ah, wait a second," Tenzo looked around himself carefully, as if double checking something but he only saw the growing crowd of children and not the familiar scared face of another chunin he knew. "Where's Iruka? Didn't he follow you into the hole Kurenai-san?" the brunet turned his attention to the kunochi but the red eyed woman only turned away from him, her crimson eyes watering around the edges as she glared at the pillar of the wall beside her, one hand resting atop the young Hyūga girl's head and the other clenching the small fingers of the Inuzuka boy on her other side.

"Sempai?" Tenzo questioned softly, turning to look at the man as if he was already drawing connections but wanted his captain to cut those connections off.

…

 _Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed heavily, glade that his lecture to the group of submissive children was finally over. However, a small hand wrapped itself around his, drawing his attention down to the child standing at his side. To his right was a small eight year old blonde with baby blue eyes, tears threatened to cascade down his perfectly round scared cheeks, his white shirt and black shorts were scuffed up and torn but he appeared to be unharmed._

 _"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said softly, heartbreak twisting his face and fear filling his eyes, "He's here right? He did come with you right?" Kakashi stiffened, he turned to look around himself for a distraction by only saw the dozens of rows of children all leading up at him expectantly, some leaning forward as if to hear him better. There were children all around him, peering down at him from the branches of the support trees, poking their heads out from the nearby huts, pushing themselves up from the platforms they laid on, and leaning against the railing of the spiral staircases leading to the next floor up. All of them with the same pensive, frightened to hope, expressions; some with tears in their eyes, others with disbelief and still those clueless few still too young to understand the situation completely. As he swept his eyes over every child that slowly crept a little closer on their hands and knees, approaching him cautiously, he saw that none of them wanted to believe in Iruka's death, they wanted to hear that he was just waiting for them to get back to class like the good students he always wanted them to be._

 _Could any of them see their life without Iruka in it?_

 _"He's here," Kakashi said softly, crouching down to Naruto's level with a soft smile, "he's in your memories and in your heart that alone is enough life to sustain his existence." The silence was broken, the older children understood. Some collapsed to their knees sobbing uncontrollably, some had vacant stares, some turned away and returned to their previous task, some clutched a younger sibling close and whispered reassuringly to them. Not many of the younger children understood and asked if they would see Iruka again someday, Kakashi felt like a fool answering._

 _"You can see him in the choices you make. From now on, you are the candle he left behind. Show the world the strength of your flame by honoring his memory."_

 _..._

"I told the children that as well," Kakashi said softly. Tenzo couldn't say anything, he knew that it was a blow possibly too low for his captain to accept at the moment and even if he did acknowledge it, he would be depressed because he broke a promise he's nearly died repeatedly trying to keep.

…

* * *

…

It was like he was crawling through two endless rock walls with only three feet between them and no bottom in sight; except he was crawling through a crevice in the tree that saved him. He followed a small swarm of his insects, carefully crawling between the two perfectly smooth wooden walls. He swore he had to have hit the bottom by now with how many hours he was climbing down but the sunlight streaming up to him told him otherwise, which meant he wasn't even half way down the massive tree. Looking around himself, he carefully jumped from one side of the thick bark to the other, huddling close to the trunk of a tree he crab-walked around the trunk to be further in—then he slipped on the ledge. He flipped mid fall and tried to put his feet down first so he could roll easier but the tip of his shoe hit the next surface and sent him tumbling back down head first. He felt his head skim past the rough bark of a trunk and then his back hit what felt like smooth wood before he was sliding on his rear, his feet stationed below him to make first contact with whatever was at the end of the wooden slide. It took him everything he had not to scream when he realized that he was surrounded in a darkness equaled only by the closing of his eyes at night, it reminded him of the horrible dark genjutsu one of the Anbu agents placed on him before he had been taken away. As he slid down the trunk towards where ever the unnaturally smooth wooden slide would end, a blast of heat hit him. After a few minutes of sharp turns and three unexpected drops, his momentum started to slow to a stuttering crawl. He was still surrounded in the same darkness he fell into, the difference this time was the bright golden light at the end of the slide. Carefully pushing himself up, he put one hand on the wall beside him and walked forward on the glassy smooth bark, trying not to slip on the slick surface. As he walked forward towards the light, he noticed the hum of wings but not that of his insects, in fact they had returned to the over burying heat of his jacket; as if afraid of what lied ahead. The wing sound steadily grew with every step he took towards the light, making him more and more curious as he drew closer and closer to the source of the sound. Sometime later he saw the blinding light give way to a scene of warm brown wood aglow with bright sunlight, highlighted by sunlight that was filtered through branches high overhead.

Cautious about possible enemies even here, he crouched low to the smooth surface and before he knew it, he was crawling slowly forward to the edge. His glass smooth wooden perch had brought him to what he could only assume to be the center of the tree that had protected all of the kidnapped children. Looking around himself he found that the huge tree was actually a few hundred thousand trees all twisted together to create the appearance of one massive tree. Inside the circle of trees, amongst the thousands of small and large perches all covered in just as many animals, was a large open area like a theater with all the seats on the walls disguised as large perches. The large open space was designed to have about ten or twenty steps steadily moving down into the center area where a wide platform was lightly raised. Close to the center of the platform were two small bodies, one of whom was dressed in a familiar dark work out uniform with familiar dark hair and the other was dressed in a tattered, bloody pink kimono. Deciding that the surrounding animals have already proven to be allies, he carefully maneuvered himself over the edge and let himself drop to the main floor.

What he landed on happened to not be wood, if the echoing 'ow!' was any clue

"Shino!" A familiar red eyed Kunochi barked, "What are you doing here?" He looked up at Kurenai blankly, wondering how she got there before himself. Blinking slowly, he decided to see who else was there with her and was glad to see that she came down a lone, though how she got down to the center of the tree before him was perplexing. "Shino," Kurenai growled lowly at him, making him snap back around to look up at her fearfully, "Did you make an insect clone to deceive us?" he kept silent as he stared right back into her red eyes unflinchingly, when her eyes narrowed warningly and she slapped her hands together in preparation of a jutsu he promptly answered.

"Maybe," to his credit, his voice didn't crack as bad as it did when he screamed about the near massacre of his insects during the almost successful sealing problem.

"Get off of me," Shino looked down and realized that he was sitting on someone, scrambling to his feet, Shino ducked around the closest corner and peaked around to stare down at the strange Anbu agent the tree brought with. The brunet coughed and pushed himself up, glaring in irritation at Shino he dusted himself off and stood back off, grumbling under his breath about rude kids and surprise attacks.

"Shino-kun why are you here?" Kurenai asked as she dropped her hands back to her sides, Shino looked up at her curiously before turning to look over at the two laying little girls in the center of the amp theater. "Is that Hinata?" Kurenai questioned, hurrying forward, Shino close beside her as he made sure to put a few of his remaining Kikaichu directly in front of the Anbu agent, hindering his progress after them. Reaching the pedestal, Kurenai kneeled next to Hinata and carefully lifted her up, laying the knocked out little girl against a leg, one hand reaching out to press two fingers against her pale throat. "She's still alive," she whispered, relaxing

"What about this one?" Shino asked her curiously, she looked up and frowned at the bleeding little girl at his feet, looking as still and pale as a week old corpse. Kurenai looked up to the animals who were sitting in the platforms around them, each looking down at them patently, as if expecting something interesting to happen. "Yuhi-san… I don't know this girl, she's not from the academy…" Kurenai looked over at Shino and smiled reassuringly at him

"She's a child of the Hattori clan," Kurenai reminded him, "there are probably other survivors. In that case they mostly were rising her underground."

"Why?" Shino asked curiously

"The Hattori are force all on their own," Kurenai answered, "who knows why they do what they do? Only they can answer such a question."

"…she's younger then I am," Shino whispered, "why'd they chose her?"

"Oh no Shino-kun, she's actually the same age as you," Kurenai corrected calmly, "it's pretty common knowledge that the Hattori clan age at a slightly slower rate than most people, especially in their first few years. She won't start looking her proper age until she's about fourteen or fifteen, right now I'm guessing she's about eight or nine years old."

"…Yuhi-san, that means she was born around the time of the Kyōbi attack," Shino pointed out

…

* * *

…

She stood at the edge of the great Hokage Mountain, staring up at the shifting onyx clouds looking like the dark raging waters of a hurricane. She hadn't seen the light of day in what seemed to be weeks; already the lack of sun and clean air was having an effect on the land. Even from her place atop the third Hokage's head, she could see the yellowing of leaves, a sign that the village trees won't be around much longer. The dark smoky air coursing through the village like the once horrible Kiyubi miasma stung her nose with every breath she took in, threatening to make her cough and hack uncontrollably. Over a mile from her place and almost perfectly centered from her were the gates of the village, wide open and guarded by a dozen of Commander Falcon's men. Their black cloaks and paint less masks were enough of a threat to keep the returning civilians in check, what few children who escaped with their parents were rudely ripped away from their mother's frightened embrace and shoved into a crude bamboo cage.

Anyone who fought back was executed

"You look pretty glum there princess," the sudden voice was answered by a kunai aimed at his neck, "Whoa! Whoa! Hold on it's just me!" She turned just enough to looked at the cloaked man standing at her back, the calm face of an Eagle stared back at her. "seriously Sparrow do something about your stance," the man relaxed his own, stuffing his hands in his pockets and slouching as if that would calm her suddenly stiff figure, "seriously princess, you look like a woman in morning." She didn't answer his absurd observation, choosing instead to return her sight on the growing mounds of corpses and cages of wailing children.

"Quite the sight yes?" His voice sounded beside her and she tried not to show her surprise at his sudden appearance beside her. Commander Eagle was the oldest of the commanders just as she is the youngest, but unlike the others, his skill set was unknown—everything about him was unknown. She knew he was older then her, the oldest of the four commanders, she knew he was male and he had long since mastered the flash step.

Everything else was unknown

His name, age, preferences, identity, specialization, hell even his _loyalty_ was unknown. No one knew anything about him; Sparrow doubted that even her father, Danzo, knew more then the man's name... if he knew that much. The only useful thing she knew about him was that he purposefully and obviously showed off his absurd mastery of the flash-step, abusing it at every chance he got. If the world thought Shisui Uchiha was a master of the technique then they've never met Commander Eagle...perhaps that was a good thing. After all, not even Sparrow, the queen of the birds, knew if she could fight him and survive.

 _You don't get old by being dumb_ , Sparrow thought, glancing at him from the very edge of her mask. "What do you want?"

"Hmm? Princess did you actually say something?" Her frustration and annoyance for him knew no bounds but she could never react to his disregard for their training, not when he had her father's ear. She fought back the snarl trying to twist on her lips and raised her right hand slowly, allowing him to know she meant no harm...this time. Her disgust at his display of disappoint grew as her hand signed the necessary question, she lowered her hand back down to her side and he curled up into a ball facing away from her, an air of depression surrounding him. "You're mean princess," Eagle exaggerated childishly, "is it forbidden for two Commanders to have a friendly—" she planted her foot in his rear and promptly kicked him off the mountain, then listened to the started scream he gave as he fell straight for the bottom. She counted to three before turning around just in time to see Eagle flicker into existence in his previous place, their kunai colliding and bouncing off each other directly in the middle of them.

"Ne~ princess that really was uncalled for," Eagle drawled carelessly, she just knew he was smirking beneath that mask of his, she _knew it_. "Why are you all 'violence is the answer to everything'? Ever heard that peace is acquired by—" he stopped speaking as he registered the hand signs she was giving him. "...That's harsh princess," he slumped his shoulders like a scolded puppy, "there's no need for threats..." She kept signing and watched as his head eventually bowed in shame. "You're in a foul mood I'm leaving before you try to kill me again," he disappeared before she had the chance to flip him off, not that it would benefit her later, so upon second thought, she was glade she didn't get the chance to raise her middle finger at him. Resisting the urge to sigh, she snapped back around on her heel, took one last look at the front gates and marched towards the nearest root of the tree that took the last eight generations of their children. Noting that the appendage of the tree was covered in moss and surrounded in tall grass, the woman took in a deep breath and tried not to flinch as small roots and grass alike suddenly wrapped around her like a protective cocoon.

...

 _She awoke some place dark and warm, surrounded in a cocoon of glowing roots. Explosions and roars sounded far over head, as if miles of earth separated her from them. She pushed herself up to lean against the wall of thick warm roots, wondering where she was and why she was alone._

 _"_ _ **So you finally wake**_ _," a voice as deep as the sea echoed around her, startling her into sitting straight and looking around herself fearfully, searching for the source of the voice. "_ _ **No need to be frightened child, I am your friend**_ _."_

 _"Who are you?" She asked, her voice cracking in fear, "where is my mother?!"_

 _"_ _ **Your mother sent you to me**_ _," the voice answered her calmly, "_ _ **I am sorry little one, I could not find her in time**_ _."_

 _"What's that supposed to mean? What did you do to her?!" She knew the answer but she didn't want to admit it, didn't want to face it. The warm roots surrounding her dimmed in their brilliant tortoise hue, as if silently weeping for a lose too close to the heart._

 _"_ _ **...your mother is gone**_ _," the voice answered mournfully, the deep masculine tone was enough to make tears prickle the edges of her eyes, "_ _ **now it is my responsibility to take you someplace safe**_ _." Tears were rolling down her cheeks, fat and cold, like the ice growing inside her chest. To her right the roots began to shift and move, contorting as if carving out a hallway for her to travel through. She sniffed, rubbing at her face with her dirty kimono sleeves, she tried to stand but her ankle gave out and she collapsed against the hard weaved root floor. When she landed, seemingly rattling the cocoon of roots, she had briefly seen something bright and shinny bounce amongst the tangled web. She shifted her weight and patted down, searching for the object that bounced just inches from her face._

 _"_ _ **What are you doing child?**_ _" The voice asked, "_ _ **you need to hurry now, the path to the b—**_ _"_

 _"Got it!" She smiled as pulled up a tiny snow white purl, smiling to herself as if she was proud to find something as small as her finger nail. She held it up, allowing the glow of the roots surrounding her to bounce off the tiny purl, making glow like teal star light._

 _"_ _ **...**_ _" The voice said disapprovingly_

 _"Uh, hay! How do you know my name?" She asked curiously, turning to look at the glowing roof, once again wondering where the deep male voice was coming from_

 _"_ _ **I was your mother's teammate**_ _," the voice answered gently, warm fondness was followed by sudden confusion, "..._ _ **I think**_ _..."_

 _"Huh? Were you or not?" Her mother told her stories of her genin days, the adventures and mischief, the dangers and games... the loss and suffering, the sudden dismemberment and the following heartache._

 _"..._ _ **I don't know**_ _," the voice answered with a heavy sigh, "_ _ **my memories are fading...the forest... it's so vast**_ _..." It was then she realized who was speaking to her, the man whose heart was as vast and great as the ocean's depths with eyes just as blue. He saved her mother and hid her away until she could be born, then set everything up for them to live peacefully inside their village with only the Hokage knowing their names and status. If he was truly who she thought he was, then her savor was becoming apart of nature and forgetting his past as he melded with the forest of the nation._

 _"Don't forget me!" She shouted, fear clutching at her heart, "don't forget me mister!"_

 _"..._ _ **My child... I have to save... my child**_ _," his voice was fading as quickly as the light was dimming_

 _"I'm your child too!" She screamed fearfully, her mother's stories about her old teammates surfacing in her mind, "you named me! You're my dad too! The only one I'll ever know!"_

 _"_ _ **Perhaps**_ _," he whispered, as if he were fading from the cocoon of roots, "_ _ **protect Sakura... your sister**_ _..." The glow faded from the roots and the voice was no more; she curled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her knees and laying her forehead against them._

 _In the endless darkness, she silently cried herself to sleep_

...

* * *

…

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are Wonderful**

 **Helpful criticisms lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

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 **Page 10**


	16. Chapter 16

**First Impressions**

Chapter 16: alliances made

Koomahana

 **I'm sorry for the long wait, chaos has been my only company for these last few months.**

 **I hope you like the chapter**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

 _Thoughts_

 _Paragraphs are flashbacks_

…

* * *

…

 _The night was long and cold, the devastation of the Kiyobi attack was still ringing loudly in everyone's mind. Anbu had been tasked to take clear the tunnels and secure the boarders of the village, anyone not of the village was to be executed without question. Team 13 of north side, under the command of owl and lead by Yonni was given the task to find all lost children and requite them into the operation. Right now, they were transporting two seriously wounded kids to the healing center. Yonni, the commander of the cell, has repeatedly reassured his teammates that he wasn't lost and the specialized room was 'just ahead'. They came across a genin and a few children, easily guilding them through the hidden network, never really telling them where they truly going._

 _"Are you sure this is the way to the hospital word?" a young genin asked as he followed closely behind the Anbu agent, three children huddled close behind him._

 _"Will you stop doubting me and trust me?" Yonni asked, irritation sound in his voice. "for crying out loud—stop walking." His teammates, genin and three children halted behind him, looking around wide eyed and frightened, as if a monster could pop out and eat them. He rolled his eyes and lifted his lantern a little higher, alighting a strange hole rimmed in thick unnatural looking roots, each lined in glowing moss with speckled glowing dust filtering back and forth just inside the entrance, as if the light of the touches were too much for the specks to handle. "Junko, take the brats and head back down the stair case, make a ruckus if you want, just get another team here to this hall, don't let anyone else enter this hall and don't let anyone follow me. Understand?"_

 _"What are you gonna do?" the boy asked, his hand flexing around a tiny hand_

 _"I'm gonna go inside the hall," he answered taking a step towards the strange entrance. His teammates trusted his judgment and had already started to lift the younger children into their arms, leaving the genin to run after them on his own._

 _"What?! What if it's a trap or , or—"_

 _"I can sense a chakra signature in there, its small and week," he informed the boy. "Someone could be hurt in there. If I ignore them and they die, I become responsible. Because instead of helping someone I ended their life, get it? Now leave."_

 _"…Y-Yes sir," the boy watched as the Yonni entered the hall, back straight like an arrow and eyes level to face whatever potential dangers could be lurking inside. "be careful mister," the genin murmured as he turned away from the entrance and started down the long winding hall, his speed increasing to catch up to the Anbu team just ahead of him. Yonni walked through the dark hall, following the soft glow of roots and dust, wondering absently how they came to be, why they existed and what their purpose seemed to be. However the only answer he ever received was the echoing scuffling of his soft footsteps amongst the roots and the flitting dancing shadows created from the movement of his lamp. It was only his mild ability to sense chakra signatures that kept from being stiff and edgy, jumping or flinching at every stray shadow at the corner of his eye or the echo of scoffs from his own feet. At one point he turned to look behind himself, wondering how far he had walked but saw no light of the other hall to greet his sight, only an endless sea of darkness as a warning of the depth of the hall. Sighing he returned to walking back down the path he had set himself down and after becoming seemingly lost in the routine of walking mindlessly through the perfectly straight hall, he finally found the end of the hall widen out into a large almost perfectly round room. He raised his lantern over his head and let his eyes flicker down as something small and bright caught his eye, however his attention was diverted at the sight of a long pale teal kimono sleeve. Stepping into the round room of glowing roots, the light of his lantern lite up the tiny form of a young girl, dressed in a pastel sunlight yellow kimono edged in sapphire blue and blue-teal cosmos flowers. A broken white sandal sat a little further away, the teal blue strap broken and stained in mud and dotted with blood, the light brown of the wooden sandal was scuffed and worn as if it had been a part of an endless battle for the past hundred years. The girl's long dark hair was pulled back into a braid, held in place by blue-violet roses with little yellow centers, weaving in and out of her dark hair as if they had taken root in it, as if they belonged there. He walked forward hesitantly, lowering his lamp to light up the bruised face of the little girl, his eyes narrowing at the silent streams of tears still rolling down her cheeks even in her unconscious state. Kneeling he set his lamp aside and gently pulled the girl towards his chest, seeing something gleam in her hand he parted her fingers gently to see that she was clutching a small purl. Frowning in thought, he looked around himself again, remembering that another thing had shinned briefly before, it was the reason he had seen the silent child so soon. Something happened in the moment he decided to look for that other shinny object, the light of the little glowing-roots seemed to dim and his lantern seemed to glow brighter, the effects of the battling lights clashed over something small nearby the base of his lamp, making it shine in two different colors. He carefully reached around his lamp and into the knot-work of roots to carefully extracted the small gleaming item. What he pulled out seemed to be the mate to the tiny purl the girl had been clutching in her hands. He took the purl in her hands and the one he collected from the floor and put both into his pocket quickly, so he wouldn't lose them while returning to the bunkers. Once the purls were safe in his pockets, he adjusted the lamp carefully so it wouldn't burn him when he placed it on his hip and carefully arranged the girl in his arms._

 _"Why are you here little one?" he murmured as he walked towards the exit, the lamp at his hip lighting up his path without burning or blinding him. It took several days for young girl to wake up but by that time a DNA test had been performed and her mother located. The copper haired woman had been one of the few shinobi who passed in the battle against the demon, she was also one of the last of a founding clan. When the girl awoke her eyes were as dark as a starless midnight sky, they were wide and curious even as she pushed herself up and looked around the pristine room she had been placed in. knowing well what the small red button on the side of her bed did, the girl pressed it and in walked two men. One who was Yonni and the other a medic, the girl didn't recognize them and that was okay. The door to the medical room opened and in walked their master, holding a stiff cane as he marched in and took a seat._

 _"get out," the man ordered coldly, "not a word about this to anyone." The medic nodded and did as he was told, Yonni however didn't budge from his place against the wall._

 _"Little one, do you know who your father is?" the masked man asked instead of leaving as he had been ordered_

 _"No sir," the girl answered simply. "He left before I was born."_

 _"Hmm," the old man bobbed his head thoughtfully before looking at the girl sitting calmly in the bed. "What if I said I found him, would you like to meet him?"_

 _"Not really sir," she answered with a careless shrug. "He left all responsibility when he left my mother." That was a cold response and it surprised the two men, a normal child would've been excited to meet one of their parents for the first time. the old man glared at the girl, his lips twisting into a frown as he glared at her._

 _"I'm your father and this is the first time I ever heard of having a kid," he replied just as coldly. The girl gave him a dull look, as if she didn't care for his words. "Tch," he stiffly rose to his feet, his back still aching from the explosion he barely survived from the attack from the previous week. "Since your mother didn't see fit to tell you about me, you can go live in the orphanage." He reached for the door but was stopped by the girl's soft voice._

 _"Okaa-sama told me my father had an 'X' shaped scar on his chin," the girl said, her face twisting into a thoughtful frown. "She's the one who gave it to him. She never told me his name but she did say he was a 'strict old fart with no sense of humor'." The Anbu agent snorted, quickly coughing into his hand to avoid a scolding from his master. "You fit that bill pretty well."_

 _"…I'm not old and I don't have time for humor," he growled at her, glaring over his shoulder at her. "The option to train under me or go to the orphanage is your own choice. But I will not give you special treatment."_

 _"I never expected that sir," the girl snorted, as if that was an obvious statement. "I would like to know your name though."_

 _"Danzo Shimura," he answered gruffly. "You will remain with the surname of your mother, Senju, but tell no one of our relation or you'll executed faster than you can blink." He left her alone in that room, leaving her under the protection of Yonni; one of his more promising agents. He never expected that a drunken–one-nightstand would result with a child; especially since the girl's mother was one of the last Senjus. The woman wasn't anything special, no direct relation to the Shodaime, but she was a jonin for a reason and it wasn't for her battle tactics. Half way down the dim hall, Danzo stopped and leaned against the wall, his hand reaching up to brush the beaded bracelet on his wrist. It had been a long time since he last talked to the second woman who earned his respect He won't let the child of the chakra-tree care-taker die on the front lines because no one knew who she was. He will honor his once-friend's wish and make sure the girl lived a long life._

 _Even if that life was hidden away far beneath he surface of the earth._

…

* * *

…

A voice far away was calling to her, she took a deep breath of the cool morning mist. The voice was suddenly shouting, no, screaming at her, what did it want? She knew it but didn't, was it familiar? Was it the voice of an allay or an enemy? She tried to listen closely but it kept drifting further and further away, it was so far away she could barely hear it and the more she concentrated on it the further away it sounded. Eventually she chose to ignore it, deciding to open her eyes and see what was before her instead of wondering what was behind her. She found a field of green with trees acting like stairs, tethered limbs pretending to be homes, and clouds looking like mist. It was like a dream world, like a field of ancient times was suspended in a cloud, acting like a time capsule. She blinked and realized sleepily that she wasn't alone in this foggy dream world. She stepped forward, smiling at the warmth of the sun she hadn't realized she forgotten the touch of, and swept her arms out to either side of herself, smiling at the cool mist ghosting over her fingertips. A sound had her freezing, blinking slowly in sleepy confusion as she turned to her right and found a familiar child standing there. A sound to her other side had her turning again to find seven crimson eyes staring coldly at her, all merged into the lumpy dark shadow of a monster; a monster that'll devour the familiar child. The monster shifted in the fog, inching towards the familiar child. She tried to focus on it but her eyes couldn't see through the mist, as if her eyes were looking through two over lapped images. A voice from far away pulled at her, making her head ache with every faint sound. She gripped at her head, her eyes squeezing shut as if that could silence the voice, her mind filled with shouting, questions and accusations, the voice so far and distant grew louder and louder, merging with the voices of the monster she thought to be beside her. She opened her eyes, her sight was blurry from tears and mist, the terrifying monster with seven blood red eyes gurgled and moved closer to the child. Before the monster could move or roar the little girl she knew stepped between them, smiling peacefully at her as if nothing could go wrong.

"No!" She screamed, thrusting one hand out towards the girl, only to see that the mist was pushing her away, taking the little girl and monster far from her grasp. "No! Get away! Get away!"

"ncess! ...rincess! ...Princes!" Someone was shouting at her, claws scrapping at her

"Get away! Get away!" She screamed as she fell through the mist, trying to fight off the claws of the creature she couldn't see.

" _Princess_ ," the voice was in her ear, soft like velvet and calm like ice, "I am here, we are safe." She stopped moving, allowing the claws to grip her wrists tightly, the voice remaining still and calm in her ear. "We are safe," like a shattering of glass, the white clouds and icy mist were gone, replaced by the haunting storm clouds high overhead and the suffocating feel of a body hovering over her own. She noticed instantly that her hands were pinned to her chest and her legs bound to something warm. "Princess?" The voice in her ear whispered, she felt the body pull back and the mask of an Eagle fill her vision, dark brown orbs filled the thin slits of the mask, "are you awake now?"

"Commander Eagle?" She questioned, her voice cracked, fear and confusion mixing together.

"Geez Princess," Eagle pushed himself off her and pulled out a kunai, cutting off the rest of the grass still wrapped around her. "I'm glad I stuck around out of sight. I barely got to you before that branch hit you." Sparrow pushed herself up and looked down at her legs, clumps of dirt clung stubbornly to the ends of the grass clinging to her legs and feet. "Stay away from that tree Sparrow," she perked at her code name, having never before heard it from the almost childish commander. His porcelain white mask tilted towards her slightly, just enough for the dark clouds and dim light of the village lights to paint his mask hauntingly. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine and she was forcefully reminded why Commander Eagle was Danzo's right hand man, and why he reined over _all_ of the commanders.

"Its too dangerous... even for you," Eagle cut the last of the grass from her feet, parting the cocoon and then putting his arms under her, lifting her up bridal style. "I'll take you to the hospital, how's your ankle?"

"My ankle?" Sparrow questioned numbly, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Did you bump your head or are you just that numb to pain?" Eagle questioned, "Your right ankle looks broken. I'll get the medics to look at it."

"My foot feels fine," Sparrow commented, her eyes drifting closed as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Unknown to her, Eagle stopped walking and took a look down at the fourteen-year-old in his arms, eyes narrowing into thin slits as he stared down at the bruises and cuts littering her body. As if the grass cocoon was a knife cocoon, scrapping and cutting across her body carelessly, leaving behind hair thin bloody lines. Her limbs apparently received the worst of the damage, particularly her legs, both still bleeding and hanging limply over his arm, as if he was carrying a shredded carcass instead of the youngest Commander of Anbu Root.

Without a second thought, Eagle disappeared from the mountain top

 _..._

* * *

 _..._

 _"Remember Kodomo, you must not forget this, your father is the forest and your mother is the mist," Mamorigami spoke calm and clear, tone not soft but not clipped, a version of a voice long since forgotten. "The forest will protect you, you need not order it, simply obey it. The mist has been tainted by the greatest of the demons, you, as the child of the mist, must purify it." She tilted her head to the side, blinking up at her guardian curiously, her mouth opened and a serious of clicking and whistles ensued. "No Kodomo, no one else can purify the mist, not even the forest can." the ghostly woman answered her question simply. "There isn't a human alive who can purify the demonic miasma. They just seal it away into infants and hope for the best." She tilted her head to the side, curious about the new word Mamorigami had used but before she could question the mostly transparent woman, a song suddenly sounded, peaking her interest._

 _"Bloody Bluejay, I suppose you want to go play now?" She smiled up at her, bobbing her head eagerly, squirming in her seat, ready to race out of the room and play with the animals just outside. Mamorigami sighed heavily, bobbing her head in consent she flickered away to tend to her duties as the caretaker of the underground bunker. She got up and raced out of the room, smiling brightly at the sight of the glowing avian not too far away. The bird chirped at her warmly before hopping on its big black legs and flapping its wings as if to get used to the tight space of the hallway before taking flight; one giggling pinkette chasing after it. She kept her eyes on the back of the glowing bird, eyes dancing as the tips of the bird's wings skimmed the dust of the floor and whispered against the walls. It's bright summer sky glow filled the dark hall, filling it with light, as if turning the hall into a sea of aqua and guiding the girl through to the bright white lights of the outside world._

"She's waking up!" A voice shouted, she scrunched up her face in displeasure, it was unfamiliar and strange, deep and almost unnatural. Her eyes were heavy, as if weighed down, her head was pounding like a drum and her body was aching as if someone stretched out all her limbs as far as they could and then kept them there just to see her muscles spasm.

"Little one," a soft feminine voice murmured, gentle hands lifted her up and laid her head against their arm with the support of their leg. "Little one," the voice called gently, "its time to wake up now." She could hear it still, the song of the Bluejay, it was accompanied by dozens of others, all singing together, as if to tell her she was safe. Her body still hurt and her eyes were still heavy, her breathing increased and her face pinched as she tried to force her eyes open. Her sight was blurry, misshaping the faces over her, it was only the singing of the birds and the warmth of something small and furry nudging her hand that kept her calm as her sight slowly cleared to reveal the worried face of a red eyed woman. There was a yip and then a wet tong was sliding over her cheek, leaving behind a trail of slime, and then there was more excited barking.

"I'm glad to see you awake little one," Kurenai smiled down at the sleepy little girl, "I was beginning to worry." The little girl blinked slowly at her, as if resisting the urge to return to sleep, then sighed heavily and turned to look away from her, choosing instead to watch a few young wolf pups dance and play a dozen feet from them.

"How's the kid?" Kurenai looked up at Tenzo and smiled reassuring at him, "good." Tenzo sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping, "hay Bishido! Princess is just fine! Now quite your mopping!" The fox in question was sitting before a larger canine with a bowed head, looking meek and submissive. Bishido didn't move as the large white fox stood to her full height and started to walk towards Kurenai and the pink haired girl with a grace that only a female demon could possess. The little girl's eyes snapped up to the large fox and she almost shrank back in Kurenai's arms, not the kind of shrinking that said she was scared but the kind that said she was in trouble and knew it. The regal fox sat down in front of Kurenai and stared down at Sakura with haunting golden eyes. The creature blinked slowly and laid its ears back, her nose twitched and a low not-quite-a-purr sounded in her chest, nearly vibrating through the wooden floor. The little girl slumped her shoulders and looked away, an almost whinny sound rolled out of her throat, her lips pursing in displeasure. The fox narrowed her eyes and huffed, shifting her paws subtly as if the wooden floor was irritating them; the girl sighed, a sound that almost seemed to mimic a groan.

"Are they talking?" Tenzo questioned in surprise, only to have no one answer him. Suddenly the wood beneath them vibrated, as if the tree was moving or groaning in protest, the animals turned deathly silent, their senses peeking as they searched for the threat. The giant white fox before Kurenai perked its ears, seemingly focusing on a single sound before laying them back and snarling disdainfully.

" _Put her on my back_ ," the fox ordered suddenly, laying down just enough to keep the girl laying until she stood. Kurenai wanted to protest but a slanted eyed look from the creature had her obeying the giant white fox. " _The tree will stand without her_ ," the fox said as she rose to her feet carefully, " _the rest of the animals of the forest will join you soon in this tree. Do not fear them_."

"Where are you taking her?" Kurenai asked, her fingers ringing together in worry

" _Some place safe_ ," the animal answered, " _not all creatures of the forest adore my child_." With that the fox was racing off in another direction, leaping expertly as the branches shifted and moved, as if forming a quick path up just for her. Kurenai glanced at the others around herself, pursing her lips at the sight of the tiny navy haired girl being cradled in Tenzo's arms, looking too much like a porcelain doll. A glance at Shino showed him sitting cross-legged nearby looking bewildered and adorable as tiny kits played in his lap, crawled over his shoulder and snuggled into his hands; the last and smallest pup was held at arm's length as if the Aburame heir didn't have a clue as to how to hold it.

"Come Shino-kun," Kurenai called gently, "let's get Hinata-Chan to the healers upstairs." Shino looked down at the kit laying in his lap, its sibling lying next to it who was also valiantly swapping its paws at another kit to keep his lap all to itself, then he looked at the curled up purring orange ball on his shoulder then at the tiny fuzz ball in his hands. The look he then gave Kurenai could be described as nothing more than helplessly pathetic, which only earned him giggles and chuckles from the adults in front of him.

"Bishido," Tenzo called, his voice quivering in laughter, "spare the boy already."

"Do I look like their mother?" The canine asked in return, seemingly glaring at the wood user

"Do you want me to answer you?" Tenzo asked, staring pointedly at the dozen pups playing at his feet. Bishido growled warningly but the playing pups didn't heed the warning, simply yipping and yapping at each other playfully. A sharp bark from above had the pups ducking their heads and tucking their tails, Bishido grumbled and growled as he stood up and started walking away from the pups who each eagerly followed him. Tenzo snickered at the canine, ignoring the glare he received. Shino carefully rose to his feet, still holding the kit in his palms at arm's length, and hurried over to the adults. Kurenai brought up the rear with another large fox following close behind. They reached the large winding staircase and followed it up, taking their time as they felt no need to rush with the warm summer sun still streaming in through the cracks high overhead. Eventually Hinata woke up sleepily, her pale white eyes squinting at Tenzo before she screamed shrilly, nearly giving him a heartack. Hinata's palm slammed into his face, prompting him to drop her as she landed on all fours and quickly hit several pressure points in his legs, which made him collapse to the staircase like a broken puppet.

"Easy there tiger," Kurenai chuckled at the heiress, "you're safe."

"Ma," Hinata hick-upped, "Miss!" crying Hinata stomped over Tenzo mercilessly and buried her face into the chunin's white skirt, "Whaaa! Waaa~aaaa!"

"It's okay, shhh, you're okay sweaty," Kurenai whispered to the hysterical little girl, stroking her short dark locks reassuringly. "You're safe."

"Hinata-san, do you know why we are in a tree?" Shino asked, prompting the little girl to look at him, sniffling as his held-out palms seemed to be offering the tiny black kitten to her. "Because the child of foxes created a safe-place for us," Shino dropped his eyes down to the pup in his palms, "this one likes you most. You should carry him now." Hinata whimpered and buried her face into Kurenai's white skirt again, Shino shrugged gently and turned back around, walking up the stairs and passed Tenzo. Kurenai chuckled as Bishido appeared on the stair case and stubbornly pushed Tenzo into a sitting position before growing three times his previous size and propping the Anbu agent onto his back. Once more the group started up the stairs, Hinata clinging to Kurenai and Shino leading them; it would only take them a few hours to reach the top branches. By the time they reached the lowest level of the intertwined braches, all the children had been gathered into a large mass before the trunk of the tree. Sitting in cove of the trunk, where it split into four main branches that eagerly split once more to support the mass of weight it held up, was a familiar tiny pink haired little girl. she was sitting on the trunk in front of a giant white fox, the same white fox who had taken her just hours before.

"How'd they beat us up here?" Tenzo asked softly, frowning as he saw everyone crowding around the tiny little girl, several of the weaker children were propped up against raised branches or patent animals.

" _All of you listen closely,_ " the fox ordered, her voice nearly echoing through the air and stilling the nervous shuffling of the children. " _This is Sakura Hattori, last of the Hattori and Haruno clans. She is the reason for your safety as well as the reason why you remain human._ " The little girl tilted her head back and made a strange whimpering sound at the fox, who only gave her a narrowed eyed look. The girl sighed, her shoulders slumping and her head bowing in defeat; there were some arguments she could never win.

"I am not used to these words," Sakura said slowly, "please be pay-she-ant."

"Patent," an older student corrected habitually, only to blush in embarrassment as Sakura pouted at her. "Sorry," the girl said murmured quickly.

"…This is a chakra-tree," Sakura said, returning her eyes back towards the mass of children before her. "It'll stand so long as I live but I cannot remain here. There are others I must go to. Please choose between remaining here and returning to your families."

"What do you mean by that?" another questioned, his face scrunching up in thought. Sakura tilted her head to the side before turning to look back up at the fox, making another whining noise quickly followed by clicking. The giant creature sighed heavily, giving up on trying to teaching Sakura the human tongue by having her speak to other humans.

" _Those who remain will adapt to the purity of the tree you all are current in,_ " the fox clarified quickly. " _whatever clan you are apart of, whatever bloodline you hold, will cease to exist. You will, over many years of long exposure, become a part of the Haruno clan._ "

"Haruno clan? Its been a while since I last heard that name," Kurenai murmured thoughtfully, _eight years to be specific..._

"You know them?" Hinata asked unsurely

"They were master manipulators of natural chakra," Kurenai told her. "I had a teammate of the Haruno clan, his name was Kizashi." Her eyes drifted towards Sakura, filling with unshed tears while her bright red lips pressed into a hard thin line. "She must be his daughter… Sakura Haruno, Daughter of Mebuki Hattori and heiress of both great clans."

"Where the Haruno's strong?" Kiba asked unsurely, clutching his sister's hand as if it was a life line.

"During the warring states era, if one war-lord hired Senju the other would hire Uchiha, correct?" Kurenai quizzed his knowledge and the boy nodded slowly in agreement. "The same could be said for the Haruno and Hattori clans. While they weren't enemies like the Senju and Uchiha, they were both rival clans and equaled only by each other but they weren't hateful or spiteful of each other. The Haruno and Hattori were difficult clans to reach, it was said that only kings could gain an audience with them. _That_ was why they were so feared and respected. Senju and Uchiha could be found anywhere but Haruno and Hattori were like ghosts. Only those who gained the notice of the clan heads could find them and only those with royal blood could approach them." Kurenai's eyes drifted down and in less than a second, Sakura was there before her, sitting on the branches and looking at her like many of the other children; wide-eyed and paying very close attention. "The Haruno and Hattori were honored and respected in equal measures to the fear they brought to the battle field." Kurenai kneeled and smiled at Sakura, a single tear freeing itself from her long dark lashes to roll down her cheek. She slowly reached out and gently pulled Sakura's tiny fingers into her own, smiling in memory and heart wrenching agony, Kurenai pressed her lips to Sakura's finger tips.

"I pledge my loyalty to my god-niece and future clan head, Sakura of the great clans Haruno and Hattori." Kurenai smiled at Sakura, heart ache gleaming in her eyes like the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Whoever choses to remain beside you princess, I will teach until they no longer need me. For you my princess, I will lead and protect the generations remaining, until you become of age." The great white fox stuck her nose in the air and let out a long howl, soon she was joined by many wolves, dogs and other breeds of canines. Sakura smiled at Kurenai, seemingly understanding the situation, and turned her face towards the level above them and released her own howl. The sound of howling was like a melody, a song from ancient times that reverberated in the survivor's chests and filled them with hope once more.

To remain in the tree was to restart another great clan, to leave was to return home and comfort

The choice given, the decision was all that was needed

…

* * *

…

In the early morning light, on the day after the evacuated civilians were forcefully returned and their children ripped from their arms, the sun finally shown. Parents looked out their windows, staring at the bright white fingers of the rising sun, watching it paint the dreary black clouds another color. Through those dark clouds small white dots floated down and down, like cotton balls floating on the wind, each capped with a leaf. The parents stared out at the sky, tears rolling down their cheeks as they knew with certainty that any child taken in the raid had been released. But the strange cotton ships containing the children would not land in the dreary black domain of Konoha, no the remaining parents knew that the one who protected the children was sending them far away.

So far away that the man now ruling them would never reach them.

With tears in their eyes, mothers picked the last remaining flowers of the village and released them on the wind; so too did fathers whisper their thanks. The children caught and bound to the village stared out over the glistening sky, tears in their eyes as they watched the freed ones escape to a safety they will never know. Danzo stood alone atop his office, watching the white light of the rising sun bath the far forest and black clouds a pristine white-gold. All too soon, the last 'cotton-boat' disappeared from sight and with it the warm touch of the rising sun. once more the sun disappeared behind the deep black clouds of a fire that had long since died, yet they remain and no one knows why. Next to the fourth Hokage's face the roots of an ancient tree stretched deep into the mountain, disrupting tunnels and destroying many secret rooms. The trunk of the impossible tree stretched up like a finger and disappeared above the clouds, where he knew the lowest branches danced just above the surface of the black clouds. His few loyal Hyūga men said the clouds were filled with chakra; something was forcefully keeping the black storm clouds over the village. A few of his Yamanaka men had reported that many of the vegetation were starting to die off and that animals have started to retreat out of the village. Other teams have reported that whole herds of solitary animals were retreating together in a blind hurry out of the village and out of its surrounding forests. Already their food production had stopped, their rations depleting too quickly to be normal. The clouds were unnatural, preventing any sunlight from reaching through and feeding their crops. Something was poisoning the earth, preventing the crops from gaining nutrients to grow. With the disappearance of animals, so too did the insects dwindle to down to nothing but cockroaches and spiders.

"Danzo-sama," the whispery voice sounded behind him, hesitant and soft, like a memory fearfully peeking through the cobwebs of his mind. A memory of a hum pressed in the back of his mind, like the curious touch a child feeling a flower for the first time. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he let the memory slide back to his place in the furthest reaches of his mind. Now was not the time to remember a woman from a night he didn't want to remember, regardless of the gift she left behind for him.

"Did you make contact with crow?" Danzo asked stiffly, not bothering to look back at the girl. He knew she was wounded, bad enough that she never should've left the hospital, but she remained kneeling behind him.

Stubborn to a fault, like her parents

"No," she answered, "the tree is sentient." Danzo frowned at the horizon, watching the last dregs of the morning light struggle against the dark clouds before disappearing and leaving them bathed in darkness. If not for the blood tests that were performed just before the complete failure of his operations, then he would've doubted the child's words. However, his assumptions were correct. The pink haired Hattori child he's been hunting down was indeed Kizashi Haruno's and Mebuki Hattori's only child. With both bloodlines of the Haruno and Hattori, the girl was not only strong but she held a power that could tame the nine-tails with terrifying ease. The only thing he could think of was that the Hattori bloodline played a submissive role during the developmental months. If that was the case, then the girl's Hattori blood only awoke eight years ago when the Kiyobi attacked. It was her Haruno blood that kept her safe from the poisonous chakra and it was her Hattori blood that adapted to emphasize the purity of the Haruno blood.

In short: Sakura Haruno habitually purified all forms of chakra

He never should've left the union between two ancient clans go without proper precautions. Now there was a demon literally stealing the life out of his village and she didn't even care for the innocent life's she would end.

"Danzo-sama," his un-claimed child murmured, her voice just barely heard over the brush of a cold breeze. "A messenger from Crow." He turned to look back at his commander, the only female in his entire army, and watched passively as a large crow glided through the air to land on her shoulder. Pecking affectionately at her hair, the crow settled comfortably on her shoulder. Turning around to face the child he watched as she gently stroked the bird's navy feathers, he could almost see her smiling gently at the bird, before carefully unwinding the string attached to its leg. The crow didn't move as it hid its beak into his wing, as if to keep it warm from the cold wind blowing through the village. The girl unwound the scroll and read the contents, towards the end she hesitated a moment, as if double checking something before laying the scroll out before herself.

"Crow allies himself with Danzo-sama," she murmured, her voice nearly disappearing as once more the wind blew past them. "Here is the proof, the head of his best friend." She released the sealed item and didn't flinch back as blood splattered her person, paining her mask and drenching her hands. Sitting in the center of the scroll was the unrecognizable face of a man, his wild black locks were singed and choppy. Only one eye was open, revealing the dimming glow of bright crimson Sharingan eye.

"We don't have much time master," she murmured effortlessly removing the eye and looking up at him through the shaped and elegantly painted sparrow mask. "Do you trust me enough to transplant Shisui Uchiha's eye into your left orbit?"

"I trust you without question,"

...

* * *

...

 **Thoughts are helpful**

 **Opinions are wonderful**

 **Helpful criticism is lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

 **Please no cursing!**

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 **Page 10**


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